Memories of Infinite's past
by Ultimate anarchy
Summary: The story takes place after Infinite had been defeated by Sonic and the Avatar. After fleeing from the battlefield, Infinite forcefully removed the phantom ruby from his chest, then he passed out after almost being erased by it. Later, Eggman kicks Infinite out and he was rescued by the Avatar. Infinite falls asleep and tells a story about his past.
1. Chapter 1: Childhood

**Disclaimer: This is a non profit fanfiction theory of the main canon character, Infinite's' full backstory. Sonic, infinite, eggman, orbot, cubot, and avatar. Are all owned by sonic team and Sega of America. I hope you guys enjoy the story and if you can, tell me your thoughts on it in the reviews.**

 _ **Date of rewrite: October 31, 2018**_

 _ **Rating: PG**_

 _ **Description: Fantasy Violence**_

* * *

[Empire Fortress, night]

During the battle with the Eggman empire, Sonic, Rookie, and Infinite's showdown has finally reached it's conclusion. With the help of the Rookie, Sonic has finally defeated Infinite. While he is on the ground, Infinite is in a glitch-like state.

"Impossible, I cannot be defeated." said Infinite.

"Wrong loser! The things that can't be defeated are heart, soul, and the bonds of friendship. Three things you and your counterfeit cronies lack!" said Sonic.

After Infinite punched the ground, he slowly starts to fade away. The Phantom Ruby is trying to erase him from existence, and he is trying to stop it from doing so.

"No, wait! I can still fight!" said Infinite.

Infinite is struggling to keep the Phantom Ruby under control. After realizing his efforts are futile, the jackal flies away. Infinite is flying back to Eggman's laboratory, faster than light speed. When he finally made it to the laboratory, Infinite is trying to remove the Phantom Ruby from his body.

"No… stop! I… can't…. I can't…. die!" said Infinite.

Infinite finally removes the Phantom Ruby, then he collapsed on the floor. The Phantom Ruby shatters into pieces after Infinite's fall. Now that the ruby has been removed, Infinite's body returns normal. He stands back up, removes his mask, then decides to sit and rest up against a Phantom Ruby lab capsule.

Panting. "...How? How could friendship make you stronger?" Infinite asks himself.

After questioning himself, Infinite closes his eyes and falls asleep.

Later.

While Infinite is still fast asleep, Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot enters the lab. Eggman is furious after he lost to Sonic again.

"Darn it! I failed again! And I was so close to eradicating that blasted hedgehog and his friends once and for all!" said Eggman. After he heard Dr. Eggman's voice, Infinite starts waking up.

"Well, boss, at least you were able to find a way out of null space." said Cubot.

"I told you we should have eliminated Sonic when he was unconscious, but you said, 'No! After all those years of humiliation I've endured, I want to make Sonic suffer. Killing him now would be to easy.'" said Orbot.

Dr. Eggman stops walking then he growls at Orbot. "SHUT UP!" Eggman slaps Orbot. Cubot laughs at Orbot for getting slapped, which results to him getting slapped by Eggman as well. "THAT GOES FOR YOU, TOO!" Eggman continues to walk up to the main computer of the laboratory. "Just when I thought I've finally defeated Sonic with the power of the Phantom Ruby, I ended up getting bested by him again! But rest assured, I will never give up, I will finally win, and THIS time, I will destroy Sonic without hesitation!" Eggman vows.

Infinite stands up and holds his wounded chest. As he stands behind the capsule, he sees Eggman and the two robots up at the computer then walks up to them.

"Speaking of the Phantom Ruby, boss, what do you think happened to that Infinite fellow?" Orbot asks.

"Oh him? He probably got erased by the Phantom Ruby." Eggman assumes.

Disappointed. "Aw man! Just when I was starting to like him!" said Cubot.

Disappointed. "It truly is a shame." said Orbot.

"Hey!" Infinite shouts.

After Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot turned around, they're surprised to see that Infinite is still alive.

"What!?" Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot said at the same time.

"Infinite? How are you still alive?" Eggman asks.

"...By pure luck. I was fast enough to flee from the battlefield to get back to the lab. I had to remove the Phantom Ruby from my chest, because I was unable to control it's power anymore." said Infinite.

"Oh…" Straightens up his glasses. "Well then... Now that you're still alive," Eggman turns his back on Infinite. "you may leave."

Confused. "What? Leave?" said Infinite.

"You failed to destroy, Sonic, so I have no use for you anymore." said Eggman.

"No use? Who made you the boss of me?" said Infinite.

Turns around and points at Infinite. "You did, my jackal friend! After you agreed to join me to conquer the world!" said Eggman.

Angry. "As a partnership! I never agreed to be your slave in order to help take over the world!" said Infinite.

Dr. Eggman laughs.

"You are such a fool! The last time I had "partners", they ended up betraying me. I learned from those mistakes a long time ago."

"So what you're saying…is that you used me!?" Infinite asks.

"Bingo! You and your pathetic squad were no different from how I treat my robots! When I placed the Phantom Ruby prototype on your body, you've just been making my job easier to finish. How did you not figure that out before? I have no idea." said Eggman.

Infinite is starting to lose his temper after Eggman called his deceased squad, 'pathetic'. He closes his right fist and is preparing to attack Eggman.

"Pathetic? You dare call my squad, pathetic!?" said Infinite.

Mocking Infinite. "Why yes, yes I did." said Eggman.

"W-WHY YOU!" Infinite charges at Eggman. The evil scientist grins then presses a red button on his computer keyboard, which activates a robotic arm from the floor. The arm grabs Infinite before he could hit Eggman. "WHAT!?" Infinite is trying to get free from the arm, but to no avail. "HEY, LET GO OF ME!"

Orbot and Cubot runs away from the situation.

"MWAH-HA-HA-HA! Infinite. That was rather foolish of you to do that!" said Eggman.

"LET ME GO, YOU FREAK!" said Infinite.

"Freak? Hah! You're one to talk! Now then, I tried to tell you to leave, but I guess I'll have to "escort" you out myself." Eggman presses another button. A group of Egg pawns came out of the laboratory floor then they slowly walks toward Infinite as the latter is trying harder to get free from the robotic arm. "Now, I believe it's time we part our ways." Eggman turns around and walks away. "So long... ZERO."

Eggman laughs while he is walking away. The robots are closing in on the helpless Infinite.

* * *

[City, sunset]

Sonic is overlooking the City while the Avatar approaches him and stands by his side, looking out at the sunset together.

"Hey, you're taking off, too? I was thinking the same thing. You gonna keep moving forward? No matter what, yeah? Heh, you and I aren't so different." The Avatar nods in agreement. "See ya later, buddy!"

The two friends grin before fist bumping. Sonic then runs off while giving the Avatar a thumbs up. The Avatar waves back and sets off in the other direction with their grappling hook, in search of another adventure.

* * *

[City, sunset]

While the Avatar is swinging through the city with their grappling hook, they look down and sees Infinite laying down on a pile of garbage bags. Not knowing who it is, the Avatar decided to go down and see about him.

Trying to get up. "UGH...! GYYAAGH! Why that….old….!" Infinite is in so much pain that he can't even stand up. He lies down on his back, looking up at the sky, thinking about what he has done. He is thinking about the chaos he's caused upon many innocent civilians. The voices of the people's screams and Infinite's laughter can be heard. The voices ends for about eight seconds. Then tears is coming down Infinite's eyes, showing that he is starting to feel remorse for what he's done.

"All… I wanted… was to get stronger… f-for them." Infinite is thinking about his squad. "But…. But… it wasn't worth it. Why? Why didn't I listen to them." The Avatar lands in front of Infinite. They look down at him and is shocked, because they recognized Infinite even without his mask. Infinite turns toward the Avatar and he recognizes them as well. "You! So…. So you've come to finish me off, huh? Fine..." Infinite turns his head back towards the sky. "Make it quick." The Avatar takes out their Wispon then points it at Infinite. The Avatar wanted to shoot Infinite for what he's done, but they are hesitating to do so. "What are you waiting for? I'm no good for anyone… Not even for myself. So hurry up and do it!" The Avatar is still hesitating to kill Infinite. They close their eyes and drops the Wispon, showing that they don't have the guts to kill Infinite, even after everything he put them through. "If you're not going to destroy me…then get away from me!"

The Avatar puts away their wispon, then walks away from Infinite. Before grappling away, they recite what Infinite said during the battle.

"Friends are nothing but a fleeting illusion, you can count on nobody but yourself!" said Infinite.

"Your mask can't hide how sad and lonely you are." said Sonic.

What Infinite and Sonic is starting to effect them somehow. They turn around and look at him again, and they see Infinite crying. They're starting to feel sorry for Infinite and they don't understand why. Against their judgement, they decided to help Infinite rather than leaving him to die. They picked the jackal up by wrapping his arm around their neck. Infinite is shocked that the Avatar is helping him.

Confused. "W-What? What are you doing?" The Avatar gives Infinite no reply then they grapple away while carrying him. "W-Why? Why are you helping me?" Infinite's eyes were closing, implying that he is about to pass out. "But... Why?" Infinite passed out.

"Weak… Pathetic… Worthless. Those are the three words I have always hated. Ever since those days."

* * *

[Desert, Day]

There is a small house that is standing out in the middle of a desert. Outside the house, an adult anthropomorphic male jackal is walking back and forward in a straight line, waiting on something. A male jackal doctor comes out of the house, and approaches the jackal.

"Mr. Jackal?" said the Doctor.

"Doctor. How is my wife? Has the baby arrived?" said The Jackal.

"The good news is, the baby is here. It is a male jackal and he is very healthy." The doctor gets depressed. "But the bad news is…"

The Jackal begins to worry. "The bad news?" The jackal grabs the doctor by his arms in fear. "WHAT'S THE BAD NEWS?"

"Your wife… she..."

The man is starting to understand what the doctor is trying to tell him about his wife. He looks at the house in pure horror. "No! NOOO!" The man runs inside the house and he started screaming inside of it.

* * *

[Grey City, Day]

12 years later, there is a medium sized town full of anthropomorphic jackals, wolves, coyotes, and many other types of animals that lives in the desert. Suddenly, a small figure ran past them. The figure is wearing a torn up brown hoodie, carrying a large brown bag, and he is running away from the police, who is chasing him through the town.

"Halt! Stop right now, or we will shoot!" said The Police.

The figure did not head the officer's warning, and keeps running away. The police are now shooting at the figure, only to constantly miss their target. The figure enters an alleyway then jumps up to the roof of the building. The individual jumps from building to building, and escapes the police.

* * *

[Desert, day]

The figure escapes the town and is running out in the desert. He stops running, drops the bag, then takes off his hood, revealing that he is a young male jackal with white dreadlocks and two mismatched eye colors. His right eye is blue and his left eye is yellow. This young boy is Infinite when he was a child.

Panting. "Phew… That was close." said Young Infinite.

After young Infinite finish resting, he picks the bag back up then proceeds to walk off with it. While young Infinite is walking, future Infinite begins narrating.

"When I was a child, I spent my whole life living as an outsider in the desert. My name is Zero the jackal. I was a young thief, who normally wears a hood over my head to hide my face while I commit my crimes. My actions maybe considered wrong, but I was doing it in order to impress… him." Said Zero.

Young Zero enters his home. The house is the exact same house that took place 12 years ago with the doctor and Axel. Inside the house, there are many pictures and portraits of random people, there are items planted on the walls and some are sitting on the cabinets, and there is a light brown rug planted in front of the door.

"Father." Young Zero is searching for Axel. He eventually finds him sitting on a chair, starring at the fireplace. "Father."

Angrily looks at Young Zero. "What!?" said Axel.

Opens a bag full of items he stole from Grey City. "I took some things from a shop in Grey City. I also made it back here without getting caught." Axel picks up the brown bag, and takes out one of the items. It is a small statue that looks like a jackal, holding a book with his right hand while raising his left hand in the air. "Did I do good?"

Unimpressed. "Worthless." said Axel.

"Huh?" said Young Zero.

"These items. They look like they aren't even worth three pence. If you're going to show me what you got, let it be something that are ACTUALLY worth stealing!" said Axel.

"But father, every item I bring to you, you always say that they're worthless." said Young Zero.

Angry. "BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE!" Zero's father throws the statue to the wall, breaking it into pieces. "JUST LIKE YOU!" He aggressively tossed the bag back at Young Zero. "Now get out of my sight! And take that garbage out with you!"

Sad. "Yes, father." said Young Zero.

Young Zero walks out of the house with the bag.

* * *

[Desert, day]

Outside, Zero drops the bag then he collapsed on the sand trying to hold back tears. Present Zero starts narrating again…

"I have been stealing items from many stores in order to get respect, love, and affection from the man I once called father. That man's name was Axel the jackal. A retired bandit, who have successfully stolen many items, and has never been caught or arrested once. Ever since I was a baby, Axel always had something against me. At this time, I didn't know why. I continued to try and be a good thief for him, but he never once smiled at me, or gave me any sort of love and compassion."

Young Zero is crying. "W-What am I doing wrong?" Then the boy recites what his father said to him.

"Worthless. They look like they aren't even worth three pence." The words that really got to Young Zero was... "JUST LIKE YOU!"

"Me? He thinks…. I'm…. worthless?" Young Zero looks at his right hand, then closes it in irritation. "No… I'm not! I'm… I'm not!" He stands back up. "I will not give up! I… I won't! I will make him respect me...if it's the last thing I do!"

Zero narrating. "The poor little fool refuse to accept that no matter what he does, his father will never love him. But he just kept on trying to impress him by committing crimes in that city."

As time is going by, Zero has been stealing and going back to Axel to show him the items he stole, but Axel is still being angry and hateful towards Zero. "Despite my effort's, Axel still doesn't give me any respect. I kept trying my best to succeed…. Until that day." young Zero is tied up and arrested by the police. "My escaping days came to an end. I was arrested, and charged for burglary."

* * *

[Grey city county jail, night]

Later, Young Zero is wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, and he was thrown into his prison cell, by the prison guard.

"Now this will teach you, you little thief!" said Prison Guard.

The prison guard closed the door and walks away. Young Zero gets up and runs to the jail barred window. He shouts for Axel to come get him out of jail.

Scared and Confused. "FATHER! FATHER! FAAAATHER!" Young Zero stops calling for Axel, then he sits down and curls up into a ball in emotional agony. "Father, please! Please, get me out of here!"

* * *

[Cafeteria, evening]

Young Zero is now in the cafeteria. He is depressed as he is sitting down eating alone and keeping his distance from the other inmates. Until, a group of other juvenile kids appear, and started bullying him.

"Hey look, it's the new guy!" said Inmate #1. Then for no reason, the inmate knocks zero's food off of the table.

"Hey! That was my food!" said Young Zero.

Then the group of inmates push Zero down on the floor, and he lands on his food. He now has food stains all over his jumpsuit. The inmates started laughing at Zero while he is on the ground.

"So? What are you going to do about it, shrimp?" said Inmate #1.

Zero is starting to get emotional, because he has never once been in a fight nor was he taught how to defend himself.

"Oh look, he's crying!" said Inmate #2.

"Oh, boo hoo! Are you going to call for your daddy to come save you again?" said Inmate #3.

Every inmate in the cafeteria are laughing at Zero and some of them are talking bad about him as he is crying on the floor.

"Man, what a weakling!" said Background Inmate #1

"Yeah, talk about pathetic!" said Background Inmate #2

"No wonder why his old man ditched him, he's worthless!" said Background Inmate #3

Zero Narrating. "I was sentenced to three years behind bars. Every night I've been hoping and praying that Axel will come and break me out of jail. But after I maxed out my sentence, I haven't heard from him. I have served those years of misery, and he never came to get me out."

* * *

[Grey City County Jail Front Desk]

Three years later, Zero (now 15 years old) is signing his papers in order to leave the county jailhouse. He signed the papers, and the front end officer takes it.

"Good. Now I hope you've learned your lesson, Kid." said Officer.

Upset. "Whatever." Zero removes his prison jumpsuit and leaves the jail.

* * *

[Axel's house]

After Zero left the jailhouse, he returns to his home, only to find his father sleeping on his chair. Zero angrily yells at Axel.

Shouts. "HEY, FATHER!"

Axel wakes up. "Huh? W-what?" Axel looks at Zero and noticed that he's gotten older since the last time he saw him. "Oh...Zero? Have you gotten taller? And your voice gotten deeper?"

"Yes, I've grown up!" said Zero.

"Oh, how did you grow up so fast?" said Axel.

Zero is shocked that Axel would even ask such an idiotic question. "How did I- Did you even noticed that I've been away for three years!?"

"You were? Oh… I never noticed. Where've you been?" said Axel.

"The cops finally caught me. I've been in jail for three years!" said Zero.

"You got caught?" Axel bursts out laughing. "How pa-ha-thetic! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You got ca-ha-ha-aught!"

Thinking. "Pathetic... Worthless?" Zero gets really mad. "WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM WITH ME!?"

Axel stops laughing at Zero, and he is surprised at his tone of voice. "Huh?" said Axel.

Angry. "I've been trying to become a good bandit, just like you was. I thought that if I'd follow your footsteps and become an excellent thief, you'd be proud of me. I tried my best to impress you so that you'd finally start loving me. I have spent years of stealing, being shot at, and putting my own life at risk for you, yet you still don't even acknowledge me in the slightest. So i'll ask you this, Father, what have I done to you for you to treat me this way? Why do you hate me so much?"

Axel is starting to get angry. "Why? WHY!?" Gets up out of his chair and looks at Zero. "What do YOU think happened to your mother!?"

"How the heck should I know!?" Zero asks.

"Your mother is dead. She's dead, because of YOU!" Zero gasps. "I hated you ever since you were born for what you did! Your entire birth caused my one true love to die! The only reason why I chose to keep your pathetic self rather than selling you away, because if i did, you could be with a family that will treat you like a prince while I'm sitting here suffering alone. So if I was going to suffer, you're going to suffer with me!" Axel knocks a small lamp off his small table out of anger. "And you want to know something else? That name of yours, the name I gave you. "Zero", describes everything about you. I called you that, because I predict that when you grow older, you will be nothing. A weak, pathetic, and a worthless man, who'll never amount to anything but be a failure. That's why I called you that! And the fact that you even tried to follow my footsteps, because you thought that I will suddenly start to care about you, just proves my point how pitiful you really are. Face the facts, brat! You don't deserve love from me, and you never will!"

Zero becomes upset after what Axel told him. He looks down at the floor in shame. "I see." Zero turns around and walks up to the front door.

"Where do you think you're going?" said Axel.

Zero opens the front door. "It wasn't even worth coming back here. I'm leaving you."

"You're leaving me? Hah! You wouldn't last a minute out there on your own!" said Axel.

"My fate is not for you to decide. If I die out there, it would be better than spending the rest of my life putting up with a miserable fool like you. But If I manage to survive, I hope that someday I will forget that you even exist." Zero looks at Axel for one last time before he leaves him forever. "Goodbye, Axel."

And without a second thought, Zero walks out of the place he once called home. Axel yells at him while his son walks away from him.

Shouts. "Fine! Go! Who needs you!? Don't show your pathetic face around me ever again!" said Axel.

Axel slam the door, and Zero didn't look back. He kept walking to wherever place he can hopefully find to stay in the desert.

* * *

[Desert, day]

Zero is walking in the middle of nowhere in the desert. While he is walking, he thinks about what Axel said to him, and his experience in jail with the other inmates.

Axel's voice. "I called you that, because I predict that when you grow older, you will be nothing. A weak, pathetic, and a worthless man, who'll never amount to anything but be a failure. That's why I called you that!"

Background Inmate #3's voice. "No wonder why his old man ditched him, he's worthless!"

Background Inmate #2's voice. "Yeah, talk about pathetic!"

Zero stops walking, and he starts getting emotional with tears coming down his eyes. "Me? Weak...?Pathetic? Worthless...? No…. I'm not…. I'm not! I am not weak!" Zero collapsed on the ground. "I *sniffs* am not *sniffs* weak! I AM NOT WEEAAAAK!" Zero screams with pain and sadness in his voice, then he buries his face in the sand.


	2. Chapter 2: The jackal squad

[Desert, day]

Still out in the desert, Zero is trying his best to keep walking in the blazing hot heat to find another town located in the desert like Grey City. Zero has been walking in the desert for hours so he is starting to pass out of exhaustion and dehydration. Zero from the present is back narrating….

"As I kept walking, I was trying my best to find another place to stay. But it seems as if I was walking out in the middle of nowhere. There was no other town, no house, it was nothing but pure sand. I don't know how long I've been walking, but it feels like I've been at this for more than 10 hours. I was hungry, tired, thirsty, not to mention… lonely."

Zero is panting and sweating, because the heat is overwhelming him. "No… I must… keep going!" Zero refuses to let dehydration and the heat get the better of him, as he continues to keep walking through the desert.

* * *

[Desert, day]

Somewhere far out in the desert, a strange vehicle driving out in the desert road. It was an armed military-like vehicle, and inside it was two anthropomorphic jackals, who looks like they are a couple of mercenaries. The jackal driving the car has bandages wrapped around his arms and legs, he wears a black headband, he has short spiky hair, he has golden eyes, and he wears black gloves and boots. (This jackal's name is Scar The Jackal). The jackal sitting in the passenger seat, wears a red scarf, he has brown eyes, he wears grey boots, and the color of his gloves are green. (This Jackal's name is Ace The Jackal).

"Another mission accomplished." said Ace.

"Yep. These goods we've stole will help us gain more money." said Scar.

"I wonder what kind of operation the boss has in store for us next." said Ace.

"We won't know until we get back to base." said Scar.

Ace looks out the window. Ace noticed that Scar drove past the passed out Zero. "Huh? Hey did you see that?" Ace asks.

"See what?" Scar asks.

"I saw someone lying down on the ground." said Ace.

"So?" said Scar.

"So? What do you mean, 'so'?"

"So someone is lying there on the sand. What's that got to do with us?"

"That guy might need help."

"We're bandits not boy scouts. If someone dies out there in the desert, oh well, it is what it is."

Ace gets infuriated by Scar's remark. "Stop the car!" Said Ace.

"What?"

"I said, pull over!"

Scar stops the car. "What's your problem!?"

"What's my problem? You were going to leave that guy!"

"And?"

"We can't just leave him out there to die!"

"Say's who? Besides, how do we even know we can trust him anyway? He has to be out there in the desert for a reason, don't you think?" said Scar.

"And what reason do you think he could be out there for?" Ace asks.

"He could be a dangerous man who ran away from a city in order to escape being arrested. He also could be an escape convict from a prison facility, or I don't know, be a deranged psychopath. Anything could be serious bad news about him."

"We're thieves, and we we're trained to kill if necessary. What makes us any different?"

"There are far more dangerous people out in this world than we could ever be!"

"Come on, Scar. Have you ever thought that he might be of some use to the boss? I mean, he could become a new recruit, he could have something in him that the boss would find interesting."

"We're done looking for new recruits, we've got enough mercs in our squad."

"There's nothing wrong with having another member of the team. More men means more arsenal on our side, you know that! Come on, buddy, we can't just leave him."

Scar thinks about whether if saving Zero is a good idea, then he sighs. "Fine, we'll help him."

* * *

[Desert, day]

They turn the car around, and drive back to the passed out Zero. Ace gets out to check if Zero is still alive. While Scar is still sitting in the car.

Looking at Zero. "Well, what do you know, he's a kid." said Ace.

"Is he dead?" Scar asks.

"No, he's still alive, but he needs shelter. We got to take him to headquarters."

"Well hurry up and bring him in the truck, it's hot out here."

Ace carried Zero into the back seat of the vehicle, and the two jackals drives off.

Ace opens up a water pouch and pours a little of it on Zero's face to wake him up. Zero awakens and sees Ace.

Zero wakes up. "Ugh. W-What? Who are you?" Looks around. "Where am I?"

Ace gives Zero the water pouch. "Here, drink this."

Zero looks at Ace for a few seconds, then he takes the pouch, and drinks it all, quenching his thirst. "Ah... Thanks. Now, who are you guys?"

"My name is Ace The Jackal, special mercenary of the jackal squad. The man driving is one of my comrades, Scar The Jackal, and he is also a mercenary in the squad."

"Mercenaries?" said Zero.

"Yeah, kid. We are a band of outlaws. You should be thanking, Ace. He was the one who convinced me to go back and pick you up. Without him, I would've left you out there." said Scar.

"Don't mind him, he's harsh on everybody. So what's your name, kid?" said Ace.

"I don't have a name." Zero lied.

"Really? Well, what can we call you?" Ace asks.

"Kid or what other name you can think of is fine." Speaking, In thought "Any name is better than, Zero." Zero thought.

"Okay, kid. We're taking you to our headquarters. Better hope that our leader find some use for you to stay with us." said Scar.

"Okay, well... thank you." said Zero.

"Don't thank us, yet." Said scar.

* * *

[Desert, day]

Zero and the two mercenaries arrives at the Jackal Squad's headquarters. It is a medium-sized black warehouse, and there are a couple more armed vehicles parked outside of it.

"Well, we're home." said Ace.

Ace, Scar, and Zero gets out of the car. Scar and Ace takes out and carries a couple of large brown bags from the trunk. All three of the jackals enters the warehouse.

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ]

Inside, there are a lot of gadgets, weapons, computers, furniture, and some snack supplies. There are also three jackals living inside the warehouse, two males and one female black-backed jackals. The female jackal was sitting on the couch, polishing a rifle. One of the male jackal's was on the giant computer, and the other one was a taller and muscular male sitting on the floor, eating potato chips. The female jackal's name is Claire The Jackal, the gun slinger jackal. She is the same height as zero, 100 cm (3'3), her weight is 30 kg (66 lbs.), she is wearing a green vest, burgundy pants, and black and silver boots. She has golden eyes, and she has white hair tied up in a pony tail. The male jackal on the computer's name is Radar The Jackal, the gizmo jackal. He is 3'6, his weight is 40kg (88 lbs.) he wears black experimental googles over his head, his fur has a more greyish tint than the other jackals, he has white strips on his body like, zero, and he wears black and white high-tops. The tall muscular jackal's name is Brawn the jackal, the iron jackal. His height is 4'0, his weight is 50kg (110 lbs.), he is wearing a green headband, he has brown eyes, he wears black high-tops, and he has white strips on his arms.

"Hey, we're back." said Ace.

Claire stops cleaning the rifle, gets up, then approaches Scar, Ace, and Zero. "It's about time you two came back. What took you so long?" Claire then notice Zero. "Who's this guy?"

"We found him lying in the ground, so we decided to help him." said Ace.

Scar gives Ace a snarky look. "We?" said Scar.

"Well, I convince, Scar, to go back and pick him up. And regarding the mission," Laughs nervously and scratches the back of his head. "the guards can put up quite a fight."

Observing Zero. "Why bring him here though? He looks like he ain't worth much." said Claire. Zero gives Claire an stern look for saying that he isn't worth much.

"So do you, Claire, yet you managed to become one of us." said Radar.

To Radar. "Maybe it's because I'm a girl, Radar!" said Claire.

"If you're strong, you're strong. If you're weak, you're weak. It doesn't matter if you're a boy or a girl." said Radar.

Pouting. "Whatever." said Claire.

To Ace and Scar. "You've got quite a team." said Zero.

To Zero. "The best of the best!" said Ace. To Claire. "Where's the boss?"

"Restroom." said Claire.

"Okay then. I guess I'll introduce you to the rest of the squad. This is Claire, I assume that she's around your age, and we call her the gunslinger jackal. The jackal over there on the computer is Radar, he is the brains and the inventor of the group. We call him the gizmo jackal. And the jackal over there eating chips is, Brawn, we call him the iron jackal. He is the muscleman of the group, and he doesn't talk much." said Ace.

Brawn waves to Zero, and the latter waves back.

To Brawn. "Hey, how's it going?" said Zero. To Ace and Scar. "And, what're you two?"

"Scar and I are the combat jackals, we're the second best fighters of the squad." said Ace.

"Our boss, Stryker, is the leader of the pack, and he is the strongest jackal of us all. We call him… the Ultimate Mercenary." said Scar.

"The ultimate mercenary?" Zero thought.

Moments later, Stryker - the leader of the jackal squad - enters the room. He is a middle aged jackal (41 years old), He has a white beard, he has more fur and dreadlocks than the rest of the jackals, his height is 4'0, the same height as Brawn, but not nearly as muscular. He has and eyepatch on his left eye to cover a scar over the eye, he wears grey boots, and he wears a grey headband.

"That's the leader?" Zero asks.

"Eeyup, that's him." said Ace.

Looking at Stryker. "This guy looks strong. I don't see him as someone who is weak at all." Zero thought.

"Hey, boss, we're back." said Ace.

Stryker sits on the tall chair, located in the center of the room. "You two got the goods?" Stryker asks.

"All right here, boss." said Scar.

Ace and Scar both presented the items they've stole to Stryker. The other jackals comes up and gathers around their leader as he opens the bags. They all look like they are very valuable and rare items. Stryker is intrigued, as he smirks and chuckles evilly while looking at the items.

Impressed. "Ah, yes, now these will be worth a fortune." Stops looking at the items, and looks at Scar and Ace. "Great job, you two!"

"Thank you, boss!" Said Ace and Scar.

Stryker then notices Zero. "Huh?" Zero gets nervous now that Stryker is looking at him, in concern. "I Just noticed." Looks back at Ace and Scar. "Who's the kid?" Stryker asks.

"Oh, we also brought in a potential new recruit, boss." said Ace.

"New recruit?" said Stryker.

"Yes, we found him out in the road. Ace wanted to help him, that's why we brought him here." said Scar.

Looks at Ace. "Is that true, Ace?"

"Yes, boss." said Ace.

"Very well, then." Looks at Zero, and starts to talk to him. "Hey, you."

Zero nervously approaches Stryker. "Y-Yes, sir?" said Zero.

"What is your name?" Stryker asks.

"Um... Well, I don't have a name." Zero lied.

"Don't lie to me!" Zero gasps. "Every living being on this planet was given name. Now, I'll ask you again, what is your name?"

"Darn it, this guy is good!" Zero thought. To Stryker. "Fine. My name is…. Zero. My name is Zero the jackal." Ace and Scar looks at Zero funny after knowing that he lied to them about not having a name.

"Zero, huh? Hmph… not a bad name." said Stryker.

Zero is highly surprised from that comment. He was expecting Stryker and the rest of the Jackal Squad to laugh at him. "What? You really think so?"

"Yeah, it's a decent name for a mercenary." said Stryker.

"Zero, huh? I agree with the boss." said Scar.

"Eh, it's okay." said Claire.

"I have a question, Zero. Why did you tell us that you didn't have a name? You don't like it or something?" Ace asks.

"Well, no. I didn't like it for personal reasons, but I'm starting to appreciate it a little more after all of your comments." said Zero.

"Well, do you want us to stick with, kid or Zero?" Ace asks.

"I told you, you can call me whatever you want." said Zero.

"So, Zero, where did you come from? And if you're eager to join the jackal squad, why should I take you in as one of us?" Stryker asks.

"I might as well tell him something." Zero thought.

* * *

[Grey City, day]

Zero starts telling Stryker and the rest of the Jackal Squad a fake backstory.

"I was born in Grey City."

Zero is with an unknown jackal and they are stealing from other people and stores. Zero was holding a bag of jewelry, while the other jackal was holding a bag full of food. The cops were chasing after the duo as they run away.

"I had a… partner, and the two of us were the most wanted outlaws in town. Me and my partner had parents, but they skipped out on us for unknown reasons. So we have been working together to survive by stealing from other people, and robbing stores to earn money and food in order to survive."

Some time later, Zero and his partner escaped the police. They are now eating food they've stolen in their hideout. "Things were going well for us, as we were committing all those crimes, and we've never been captured by the police. However, our partnership came to a tragic end."

The next day, Zero and his partner are spying on an anthropomorphic coyote man, wearing a tuxedo, and he was carrying a black briefcase.

"On our daily mission, we've spotted a man carrying a large black briefcase." Zero and his partner snatched the briefcase away from the man, and is running away with it. "We took interest in the case, so we robbed the man and ran off with it."

Later, Zero and his partner went back in their hideout. They opened the briefcase and inside it was full of money. They both were very excited when they saw what was inside the briefcase.

"Back in our hideout, we opened the case, and inside of it was filled with money. We were so happy, we thought that with the money, we will live out the rest of our lives in luxury. Until…"

Suddenly, Zero and his partner are being held at gunpoint by a group of men wearing tuxedos and glasses.

"A group of armed men somehow tracked us down. It was the people who owned the money, and they made us give it back to them. After getting the money back, they told us that they're going to take us to their boss, and let him decide the punishment we'll receive from him."

Zero and his partner are running away from the vicious gang. They were running in the desert at nighttime. "We refused to let them take us, so we ran as fast as we could as they were shooting at us. I managed to survive..." Zero's partner has been shot, causing him to fall and lie down on the ground in pain. Zero is trying to help him. "but my partner was hit. I tried to go back and save him, but he told me to run away and save myself. I had no choice but to leave him behind."

Zero is now running away in the desert alone, leaving his partner behind. The gang wasn't chasing after him, so he must have escaped.

"Soon as I was far away from him, I heard one final gunshot and I realized that my partner is now dead."

* * *

[Desert, day]

The next day, Zero is walking in the desert, at daytime. He looks very exhausted. "After I escaped, I've been walking in the desert, searching for another place to stay." Zero collapses on the side of the road. Later, Ace and Scar finds and saves him. "I passed out due to exhaustion, and that's where I met your two mercenaries."

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ, day]

The entire backstory seemed to have Stryker and the squad's interest.

"Well, that's quite a story." said Stryker.

"It was a rough experience, but life goes on, and I now have a new motivation. What I strive for is to become a legendary person. A person that is respected by many for what he does best for them, and a person that is known to be strong. I mourn for my fallen comrade, but I have no interest in taking revenge for his demise. I will continue on with challenging whatever the world will bring me. That is why I ask you, Captain Stryker. I want to join the jackal squad. I want to be trained so I can become the best mercenary in the squad, and I won't stop until I be what I want to become." said Zero.

Stryker starts chuckling.

Wondering why Stryker is laughing. "Huh? What's so funny?" Zero asks.

"You've got guts, Zero, I like that. But you haven't fully convinced me to let you join us." Zero is confused. "You see, Zero, sometimes stories can hold some truth in them, but sometimes they can be full of lies. If you say that you're a thief, then I would like you to prove it to us in our initiation trial."

"So you're saying that you don't trust me?" Zero asks.

"Well, yes and no. What you told me sounds convincing, but if I'm going to recruit someone in my squad, I want that thief to be one of the best mercenaries I have. And there is an old saying that actions speaks louder than words." said Stryker.

"I see, so what do I have to do in order to prove myself worthy enough to join?" Zero asks.

"We'll give you your initiation test tomorrow morning. For now, you can stay here and rest up, you've been out in the desert for who knows how long. So you need all the rest you can get." To Claire. "Claire, I want you to escort, Zero, to the guest room."

"Why me?" Claire asks.

"Because, that's an order, Claire!" said Stryker.

Claire sighs in disappointment. "Very well."

"Good." To all of the jackal squad. "Alright, everyone, you're all dismissed for today."

"Yes, sir!" said The Squad.

"Stryker, the ultimate mercenary." Zero smirks. "Hmph… I like how this guy works." said Zero.

* * *

[Dining room, night]

Night-time at HQ, Claire, Brawn, Ace, Scar, and Radar are eating their dinner and having a discussion about Zero in the dining room. Zero and Stryker are not with them for some reason.

"So, do you guys think Zero will be good enough to join the team?" Ace asks.

"We won't know until we see him pass the initiation tomorrow. But to me, that guy might not be what he claim he is." said Radar.

"Yeah, the little punk, lied to us about not having a name. So it's very possible that he could be lying about his background." said Scar.

Claire takes a sip of her drink.

"Personally, I could careless about the guy, and I don't quite believe him either. He probably just said all that so he could find some place to crash." said Claire. Looks at Brawn. "What do you think, Brawn?" she asks.

Brawn responds to Claire with a shoulder shrug, then he continues to eat his food.

"Well, I hope that he can prove himself worthy to the boss. I'd hate to see the guy get kicked out if he fails the test." said Ace.

"Well, kid, you better be prepared." Ace thought

* * *

[Guest room, night]

Meanwhile, Zero is in the guest room lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about Stryker and the Jackal Squad.

"The jackal squad…. the ultimate mercenary. He is bold, strong, fearless, and he keeps everyone of them in line. They all respect and praise this guy. Yes… that's the guy I want to become. I don't care how hard this test will be, I will pass and join the squad. And when I do, I will train my tail off to become the best mercenary of them all. I will become just like him, I will become the ultimate mercenary." said Zero.

End of chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3: The test

[Zero's Nightmare]

The chapter begins with Young Zero running away from something chasing after him, inside a strange dark void. He trips and falls flat on his face. As he is trying to get up, he turns around and sees there are giant shadowy monsters staring at him. Young Zero screams in horror, gets up, and runs away from the monsters again. Then out of the nowhere, a random jail barred door closes Zero in. He tries to break the door down, but it is useless. Suddenly, Axel randomly appears outside of the bars with his back turned. Zero calls his father for help.

"Father, help me! These monsters are trying to get me!" Axel is just standing there, ignoring Young Zero's cry for help. Zero turns around and sees the monsters are getting closer. "AAAH!" Young Zero Turns back towards Axel and calls out to him even louder. "FATHER, PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR! PLEASE, YOU'VE GOT TO HELP ME! PLEASE! PLEASE, FATHER!"

Axel laughs evilly, turns around, and looks at the helpless child. "You really are foolish! Do you really think you deserve my help?" Zero gasps. "Do you really think I would help you after you killed my wife?" Young Zero is crying in fear and hurt. "You deserve every punishment that comes your way for being a worthless child." Axel turns around. "I never want to see your pathetic face ever again. Goodbye." Axel walks away, and the void turns darker.

"NO! FATHER! COME BACK! I'M SORRY! DON'T LEAVE ME, PLEASE!" Young Zero turns around, and the monsters are right behind him. They are saying the word "Weakling" as they grabbed the boy, and starts dragging him away. While being dragged, Young Zero is still calling for Axel to come save him. "NOO! NOOOO! FATHER!" The void turns pitch black.

* * *

[Guest room, morning]

Zero wakes up. "AAAAAAH!" He stops screaming and started panting. He looks around the guest room, and he holds his chest in relief, realizing that it was all just a horrific dream. "Phew… It was all just a dream." Zero holds his chest at a tighter grip. "Grr… Axel. Darn You! When will I ever forget about you!?" Suddenly, there is a knock on the door. "Huh? Who is that?"

From behind the door. "Hey, lazy bones. Time to get up." said Claire.

Zero is disgusted, because he knows that it's Claire. "Oh great, her again!" He thought. Zero gets out of bed, comes up to the door, then opens it. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? You know that today is the day we'll see if you're worthy enough to join the squad. Now hurry up and get ready, the boss wants you outside in the next ten minutes." Claire walks away.

"Seriously, what's her problem?" said Zero. He closes the door, then he puts on his gloves and high-tops. "This is the day I'll join the jackal squad. It's time to put the past behind me, and move on with my new life."

* * *

[Jackal Squad's living room, morning]

After he finished getting dressed, Zero leaves the guest room, and enters the living room. He sees radar on the computers, and radar greets him.

"Well, good morning, Zero. How'd you sleep?" said Radar.

"Fine, I guess." said Zero.

"Well, that's good to hear. The boss and the others are waiting for you outside to take you to the initiation trial." said Radar.

"The woman already informed me about that. Aren't you coming too?" said Zero.

"No, I'm staying here." said Radar.

"Why?" Zero asked.

"You'll see. Now, you better get out there, the boss won't stay patient for long." said Radar.

* * *

[Desert, day]

Zero walks outside and sees Stryker and the rest of the squad, sitting on one of the vehicles, waiting patiently. Stryker sees Zero, and greets him.

"Good morning, Zero. Are you ready for your initiation?" said Stryker.

Zero smirks. "Heh, I'm more than ready!"

"Good. let's move out!" said Stryker.

Zero and the jackal squad gets in the truck, and they're heading to another location. Scar is driving, Stryker is sitting in the passenger seat, Ace and Brawn is sitting in the middle row seat, while Zero and Claire is sitting in the back row seat.

"So, where is this trial located?" Zero asks

"It's located in our training facility, and it's not that far from HQ." said Ace.

"Training facility?" said Zero.

"Yep, the place where we improve ourselves." said Scar.

"I've been meaning to ask. How long have you guys been doing this? And what's the purpose of forming the jackal squad?" Zero asks.

"I'm glad you ask, Zero. The jackal squad. We are a band of mercenary bounty hunters. We've been in business for more than twenty years. We steal valuable items, and occasionally, we hunt other criminals that has a great amount of profit on them. The more we steal and sell off the goods, the more money we get to build more weapons and technology. I formed this band of mercenaries for a personal goal that we want to achieve, and that is to become wealthy enough to build our own military empire." said Stryker.

"If you guys been doing this for so long, how come there are only six of you? Shouldn't you have more jackals with you?"

"We tried recruiting more members to the squad. But… They weren't good enough, and they were destroyed in the initiation trial." said Stryker.

Zero is shocked when he heard Stryker said about the other jackals and the initiation trial. "What?! This trial will cost you your life if you fail?"

"Yep. And there's a reason why it's like that. I want the best soldiers I can find, the missions we have been through involves life threatening situations, and sometimes we do have to go into battle. If I want to make this dream become a reality, I want to have the best mercenaries on my team. Only the strong survive and can reach their goals in this dirty world. While the weak will either gets left behind or get trampled by the strong. It's how the world works, kid." said Stryker.

"Only the strong survive? If I fail this test… I will be considered… weak? And… And I will… die?" Zero thought.

Zero looks at his hands, and he is shaking in fear. "I'm shaking… Darn it! Get ahold of yourself, Zero! You have a goal to reach, this isn't the time to be scared! I won't let this get to me, I will pass this initiation, and I will become the strongest of the strong. This, I swear." He thought.

Claire looks at Zero, and she smirks at him. "Hey, what's wrong?" Zero looks at her and sees her smirking at him. "You scared?"

In denial. "WHAT? ME… AFRAID!? DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!"

"Hey now, you don't have to deny that you're just a big baby." To Stryker. "Hey boss, maybe we should have bought a diaper with us for [Talking like a baby to mock Zero] poor wittle Zewo."

Zero gives Claire an angry bloodshot eyes look, and he clenches his right fist at her. "WHAAAAT!?"

"Claire, stop teasing, Zero!" said Stryker.

"Aaw, boss. You're no fun sometimes! I was just joking with him." said Claire.

"I hate this woman so much!" Zero thought.

"Don't mind, Claire, Zero. That's just her way of being friendly." said Ace.

"That is one of the worst excuses I've ever heard in my life." Zero thought.

"Alright, we're here." said Stryker.

Zero looks out of the window, and see four warehouses that are the same size as the jackal squad's headquarters. But the difference is that there is a large fence circled around the area. There are also some target boards, that are sitting outside one of the warehouses. The jackal squad parks outside in front of the fence, and they all got out of the truck while carrying some bags.

Zero is amazed. "How are you guys able to build all of this?" Zero asks.

"Well if you've been successful in your job as a bounty hunter for years. And you've earned enough money to pay for construction works to build what you need. Then, that's how you get this." said Ace.

"As for the weapons, we stole them after raiding other territories." said Claire.

"But you're out in the open. Aren't you afraid that someone could find this and try to steal your equipment?" Zero asks.

"Not really. Because for one, hardly anyone but us lives out in the desert. And two, the fence around this is tall enough to keep anyone out, and it's barbed wire. Now, let's get inside."

* * *

[Training facility, day]

Inside the training facility, the jackal squad enters the training ground, and they all dropped their bags.

"Okay, so what's the initiation?" Zero asks. Brawn gives Zero a vest that has a wired alarm attached to it, and a strange movement tracking monitor watch. "Huh? What are these?"

"Those are the equipment required to test you in this trial. The vest is responsible for raising an alarm in case if you break the rules. And the watch is for, Radar, to track your movements." said Stryker.

"Radar?"

"Yes. He stayed back at headquarters, so he can stay on his computers. There are cameras placed inside, so he can watch your progress. That way, he can notify us via walkie talky." Stryker takes out a walkie talky and speaks upon it. "Can you hear me, Radar?"

Over the radio. "Loud and clear, boss." said Radar.

"Good." Stryker puts away the walkie talky for a moment. "Okay, Zero, put them on." Zero puts on the vest and watch. "Now, I'll ask you again. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"More than ready. Now, what is this trial?" said Zero.

"This is the initiation test that a jackal must pass in order to join the squad. We call it, The Lion's Den." said Zero.

Zero becomes a little uneasy from the name of the initiation trial. "Lion's den?" Zero asks.

"Yes. It's called that, because it's based on what you'll need to expect in a real mission. This is a trial of stealth and testing your abilities as a true thief. Once you go inside, there will be sleeping robotic lions, and there will be some wired traps set all over the place. Your job is to reach the end of the warehouse without tripping those wires, and without making to much noise that'll wake up the robots. If you've make it to the end, there is a cardboard cut out of a large key. You must steal the key, and bring it back in order to pass the test." said Stryker.

"That doesn't sound so bad." Zero thought.

"Now I'll explain the rules. You're probably thinking about wall jumping through the lions. Well guess what, you can't." said Stryker.

Zero looks at Stryker with wide eyes.

"The watch you're wearing is showing a green light right now, because you're standing still. And It will stay green even when you're walking. You can only do low jumps. You'll need to do that in order to avoid tripping over the wires. The color will turn yellow, but you'll still be safe. If you jump high enough to the point where you're close to the ceiling, the watch will turn red, alert Radar, and he won't hesitate to turn on the alarm. That's the first rule, no high jumps. The second rule is no touching the robots, they all have a built-in sensor that makes them feel flesh. One touch, the robot wakes up, and… well, you can guess what happens next. The last rule is… try to survive." said Stryker.

"How's that a rule?" Zero asks.

"Just thought I need to say it. Now good luck in there, kid." said Stryker.

Before entering, Zero takes a deep breath. "Alright, let's do this."

* * *

[Inside the lion's den]

Zero enters the lion's den. Inside is just like what Stryker said, there are 4 cameras (2 on the left wall, 2 on the right), there are 5 robots, and the room is full of trap wires. Zero starts sweating and he was walking slow and silently.

Speaking, in thought. "Okay. I can't jump high up to ceiling, I can't trip the wires, and I can't touch these things. Doing so will result to me being lunch meat, I've got to be careful."

Zero is doing well being silent enough to not wake up the robots. But it's the traps that are the most complicated. The wires are set up like red security laser hallways inside a museum. Zero is using his acrobatic skills to hop, crotch, and flip over the wires.

* * *

[Jackal Squad's HQ]

Back at HQ, Radar is watching Zero's performance from the cameras.

"Well, not bad." said Radar.

Over the radio. "Hey, Radar. How's the kid doing?" Stryker asks.

"So far, he's doing quite well. If he keeps this up, he'll pass the test for sure." said Radar.

[Outside the lion's den, day]

Stryker and the rest of the Jackal Squad is still standing outside of the lion's den.

"Well, that's good to hear." said Stryker.

To Claire. "Well, Claire. Looks like he might make it after all." said Ace.

Skeptical. "Hmm… I'll continue to keep my expectations low." said Claire.

Over the radio. "Wait, hold on!" said Radar.

"What's wrong?" Stryker asks.

"He made it to the center of the room, but he is in a tight spot." said Radar.

* * *

[Inside the lion's den]

Zero stops walking. He encounters a hallway of trap wires planted in front of his face.

Speaking, in thought. "Oh great, how am I supposed to get through this?" Zero started thinking of a good strategy.] "Hmm, maybe…" [Zero takes off his left glove, and he uses his claws to cut part of his shoe strings. Then he bends both of his long ears down, and uses his shoe string to tie a knot around his head, to keep his ears down. He then lays down on the floor, and starts crawling under the wires. While crawling, Zero spots one of the sleeping robots, nearby. He slowly crawls by it, and trying not to make any loud enough noises. Zero successfully gets through the wires and the robot, then continues on. He kept his ears tied down, just in case if he may need to do it again for a similar obstacle.]

* * *

[Outside the lion's den, day]

Over the radio. "He made it out of the traps! Boss, he's getting close to the key!" said Radar.

Scar is impressed. "Well, I'll be. Maybe the guy is a good thief after all." Brawn nods his head in agreement.

* * *

[Inside the lion's den]

Back inside, Zero spots the key.

"Ha-Ha! There it is! I'm almost there!" Zero thought.

Zero continues to be silent, being careful not to touch the robots, and stepping over the wires. After successfully dodging the traps and sneaking past the sleeping robots. Zero grabs the key.

Speaking, in thought. "Yes! I did It!"

[Outside the lion's den, day]

Over the radio. "Boss, he got it! He got the key!" said Radar.

Stryker is impressed. "Hmph… well done, Zero. You passed the first part of the test." Stryker smirks. "Now, Radar… turn on the alarm."

Over the radio. "Yes, sir."

* * *

[Inside the lion's den]

Speaking, in thought "Heh… that wasn't so bad." Zero started walking back to the front door. "Now, I better get this back outside so I can- [The alarm was turned on and Zero was shocked] "WHAT THE HECK!?" [The alarm wakes up the robots and they all looked at Zero, menacingly. Zero looks at the lion's in fear.] "WHAT!? NO! BUT I-

The robots pounces at Zero, and he dodges them. He is now running for his life to get back to the front door. The robots were chasing after him. Zero is jumping over the trap wires, and the lions were snapping them while they were hot on his tail. One of the robots jumps over Zero, and blocks the front door. The robot charges at Zero, only for him to jump up high in the air. The robot crashes into another robot, and the impact destroyed them both. Zero jumped to the wall, but the robots can jump high as well, forcing Zero to wall jump away from them.

* * *

[Outside the lions den, day]

"How's he doing, Radar?" Stryker asks.

Over the radio. "He managed to make a couple of robots crash into each other. He's also really fast on his feet, he's not that much slower than claire. And he is really good at dodging. He's holding his own in there." said Radar

"Is he still holding the key?" Stryker asks.

Over the radio. "Yes."

Claire Smirks. "Hey, boss. Don't you think we should've warned him about this?" Claire asks Stryker.

"Nah, I think it would be better if we didn't tell him. Now, let's see if he can pass the second part of the test. Finding a way to escape his pursuers."

* * *

[Inside the lion's den]

Zero is having trouble with the last three robots. He managed to make one of the robots crash into the wall. Hard enough to destroy itself. The shockwave of the robot's impact made Zero fall in the wire traps. Some of the wires snapped and some of them managed to break Zero's fall. But his legs were tangled in the wires. The last two lions were closing in on Zero, so he had to hurry and use his claws to cut the wires, to get him untangled. Zero got his legs free, and he barely dodges the lion's pounce. One of the robots claws, scratches Zero on his right hip. Zero holds his wound for a second then runs as fast he could to the door. The robots were right behind him. He makes it to the entrance and closes the door immediately. Zero escapes the lions and passes the test.

* * *

[Desert, day]

"He did it!" said Ace.

The jackal squad applauds Zero for making it out alive. Zero was panting hard, and he angrily turns his head towards them.

"Congratulations, tough guy. I guess you're not just a fa-" said Claire.

Angrily shouts. "SHUT UP!" said Zero.

Zero throws the cardboard key at Claire, and it hits her in the head, making her fall down on the ground. The squad stops applauding.

"ZERO!" said Ace.

"WHAT THE HECK, KID!" said Scar.

Rubbing her head. "Ow! What was that for!?" said Claire.

Zero angrily runs up to the squad in a comedic way. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WHAT WAS THAT FOR!? YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT WAS FOR! WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!" said Zero.

"It was apart of the test!" said Scar.

Extremely angry. "AND YOU DIDN''T EVEN BOTHER TO WARN ME!? I COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!" said Zero.

Claire gets up. "WILL YOU CALM DOWN!?" said Claire.

Extremely angry. "AFTER I ALMOST GOT TURNED INTO A CHEWTOY, YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN!? I BARELY ESCAPED! I FELT MY LIFE WAS FLASHING BEFORE MY EYES, WHEN THOSE THINGS FIRST LOOKED AT ME! I HAD TO DO ALL THAT RUNNING, DODGING, AND JUMPING TO WALL TO WALL IN ORDER TO AVOID BEING TORN APART! MY LEGS GOT CAUGHT IN ONE OF THE WIRES! I MANAGED TO ESCAPE, BUT I GOT SCRATCHED IN THE PROCESS! AND LASTLY, I RAN AS FAST I COULD TO THE BLASTED DOOR THEN I HURRIED UP AND CLOSED IT BEHIND ME!"

"You were that scared?" said Ace.

Extremely angry. "NO, I WAS TERRIFIED! WHAT KIND OF IDIOTIC QUESTION IS THAT!?"

"Zero, you need to calm yourself!" said Stryker.

Extremely angry. "DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME SAY THAT I ALMOST GOT KILLED!?"

"You wasn't going to die!" said Stryker.

Zero calms down a bit. "Wait, what?"

"The robots. They were designed to capture, not kill you!" said Stryker.

Zero is confused. "…. Huh?"

Stryker fully explains the robots design to Zero offscreen.

Calm. "I see. Well, if those robots were not made to kill their target. And they're only made to pin you down on the ground. Then why did you make it out to sound like if I fail, I will surely die?" Zero asks.

"It was to see if you're still able to want to join us with a "life-threatening" initiation test. You see, Zero. On our missions, there are times when we have to capture even the most deadliest criminals in order to get a bounty. And there are times when we have to use stealth to steal a rare item from different buildings. Their security is even more complicated than the one you just went through." said Stryker.

"The lions are also examples of guards. They're big, bad, and if they catch you, they'll either kill you or throw you in the slammer. Either way, you're done for if they catch you." said Ace.

"Sometimes the items we steal can raise alarms. When that happens, you got to hurry and get out of there, and try not to let the guards catch you. That's why we turn on the alarm, after you grabbed the key. I got to say, kid. What we heard from, Radar, you seem to be pretty good at being sneaky." said Scar.

"I appreciate the compliment. Well, what about the jackals who failed the initiation? You told me that they're dead, but now that I know the truth about the trial. What really happened to them?" said Zero.

"Some let their fear take over them, and some weren't good enough. The story we told you about the initiation was meant to see if anyone who volunteers to join us. Are brave enough to risk their lives in order to achieve our goal. Some of the former recruits chickened out and left. Some failed the test, and we didn't let them join because of it. And some of them did get the key like you did. However, once the alarm was turned on and the robots was on attack mode. They froze and they were calling for us to help them. They stood there and let their fear take over, and let themselves get captured. You do that out in the field, you won't last long, and you're as good as dead." said Claire.

"In the jackal squad, we don't allow weaklings who let fear cloud their judgment. We don't want to waste our time recruiting cowards. Zero, you may have been scared, but you didn't let fear take over you. You made it out on your own, you were smart enough to lure three of those robots into their destruction, and you've got pretty good speed and agility." said Stryker.

"So does that mean?"

"Yes." Stryker sticks out his hand to shake Zero's hand. "Welcome to the jackal squad, Zero."

Zero gets excited, and shakes Stryker's hand. "Thank you! It's an honor to join you…. Captain stryker!" The other jackals smiles at Zero, including Claire.

"Heh." Stryker pats Zero on his head. "You've earned it, kid." Stops patting Zero's head, and informs the squad about something. "Now, I'm going back to HQ to check in with, Radar. Until I get back, I want all of you to show Zero around the area. Afterwards, we will start training him."

"Yes, sir!" said the squad.

* * *

[Training facility, day]

Stryker drives off and leaves the rest of the squad behind, for the next couple of hours.

To Zero. "Hey, come on. I'll start showing you around first." said Claire.

"Very well." said Zero.

Claire and Zero walks off somewhere else. Scar, Brawn, and Ace looks at them, while they walk off.

* * *

[Target practice area, day]

Zero and Claire enters the target practice warehouse.

"So… what's this place?" Zero asks.

"This is the target practice area. I come here to practice, by shooting the targets so I won't lose my touch. Watch this." said Claire.

Claire grabs one of the rifles and she turns on the switch, activating the moving targets. Claire has her eye on the target boards and she opens fire. Hitting every last one of them, easily.

"I'll admit, you're good with firearms." said Zero.

Claire turns around and looks at Zero. "Why, thank you." [She puts the rifle down.] "Shooting has always been my specialty, ever since I was younger."

"You were taught how to use guns since childhood?" Zero asks.

"Well…. Yeah, it's a long story. I was born in a town called, Tombstoneville."

* * *

[Enter Flashback: Tombstoneville, day]

Flashback of Claire's hometown. It was a small town, located in a red rocky area in the desert.

Narrating. "I had a mother and a father. My father was a professional outlaw. They called him, Lock-on Larry. He was the most wanted gun slinging bandit, an expert shooter, and he was the best robber in Tombstoneville. He met my mother at a bar, who was just an ordinary citizen, and she fell in love with him despite knowing his reputation. After I was born, my father settled down on his bandit days, so he can take care of me and my mother. He didn't rob banks like he used to."

Young Claire and her father, Larry, are out in the desert. Larry was teaching Claire how to use guns, by having her shoot at a few soda cans placed on a big rock. From child to pre-teen years.

"When I was 8, I wanted to learn how to be a thief and a great gunslinger like he was. So I ask him to teach me, and he showed me how to use guns. I have gotten better at my gun slinging it as I grew older. They were loving parents, and I couldn't have been happier to have them. I had a perfectly normal life. Until..."

Claire and her family, was under-attack by police officers shooting at them, from outside the house. They all ducked and covered from the bullets. Then Larry grabs Claire and her Mom by their arms and he takes them into another room.

"The town sheriff and the police force somehow found our home. And they were shooting at us from outside our home. The police have decided to have my father be executed, by their hands. Because his criminal status was high enough for him to be executed."

Larry opens a floor hatch to an underground escape route.

"Listen to me, Anna! I need you to take Claire and get out of this town now!" said Larry.

Crying. "No! Larry, we can't just leave you!" said Anna.

"You have to! This is what I've gotten myself in! I don't want you two to get involved in this!" [To Young Claire] "Here, take these!" [Larry gives Young Claire a small pistol and a pack of ammo.] "You're going to have to take care of your mother now!"

"Daddy, please no!" said Young Claire.

Larry hugs and kisses both of them for one last time.

"I love you both so very much. And it's my duty to make sure you're safe at all cost. Now, you take care of yourselves, okay? And Claire…. Daddy will always love you. Now go!"

"Move in!" The police were closing in.

"Go!"

Claire and Anna goes down into the escape hatch, and Larry closes it.

* * *

[Desert, day]

Claire and Anna escaped Tombstoneville, and they are walking out in the desert.

"Me and mother left father behind. If he came with us, the police would follow us through the tunnel. And he could put us at risk of being in danger. I was 12 years old, when I left Tombstoneville... and lost my father."

* * *

[Desert, night]

"Me and my mom was living out in the desert for the past 6 months. We had to hunt for food, dig the grounds to find water, and we've set up camp behind a giant boulder." The scene shows Young Claire sitting beside Anna in front of a camp fire. Anna was laying down on the ground and she is very sick. "Things had gotten worse for me, because my mother became very sick. I was trying my best to help her get better, but the disease she had was getting worse."

Anna is coughing.

Worried. "Mother." said Young Claire.

Panting heavily. "I'm fine, Claire…. Don't worry…. Mommy… will be alright."

"We're going to die, aren't we?" said Young Claire.

"Claire." said Anna.

Crying. "We're going to die… just like daddy, aren't we?"

Anna touches Young Claire's cheek, trying to console her. "Claire…. Don't think like that, okay? I'm sure everything will be fine." [5 seconds of silence.] "Do you remember what your father used to say?" [Tears comes out of Anna's eyes] "No matter how bad things get, there's always a light of hope. Your father may have his flaws and he had his reasons to be what he chose to be. But he was the strongest man, we've ever knew. Claire, your father would want you to be strong…. *Cough* *Cough* So stay strong little one, for your father, and for me. Never…. Give into fear. Never give up hope, okay?"

Holds her mother's hand. "Yes, mother." said Young Claire.

* * *

[Desert, morning]

Young Claire digs a hole and buried her mother.

Narrating. "The next morning when I woke up, my mother passed away."

Crying. "I could… give up now, and just accept my fate. But I'll stay strong for you and for him." [Wipes off the tears in her eyes.] "I love you, mother. I hope you and father get back together again in the afterlife."

Young Claire leaves her mother's grave and continues on. She is walking in the desert, looking for a place to stay in the desert.

Speaking, in thought. "Where will I go now? I'm alone." Young Claire thinks about what Anna told her last night.

Anna's Voice. "There's always a light of hope."

"Light… of hope? But…. Where? Where do I find hope?" Suddenly, Young Claire hears a car coming. "Huh?" She turns around, and she loads her gun.

Stryker, Brawn, Radar, Scar, and Ace was inside the vehicle. Stryker was driving, while the rest of them are relaxing.

Stryker sees Young Claire. "Huh?" Then he stops the car.

"Hey, boss. Why are we stopping?" said Radar.

"You see that girl right there?" said Stryker.

"Oh, you're going to help her, boss?" said Ace.

"Stay here." Stryker gets out of the car, and approaches Young Claire. "Hey there. Are you lost, little girl?"

Young Claire pulls out her pistol and points it at Stryker. "Get back!"

Stryker stops walking up to Claire. "Ah!"

"Boss!" Scar was about to get out of the truck to help Stryker, but he stops him.

To Scar. "SCAR! STAY BACK!"

"But-"

"I SAID, STAY BACK!" [To Young Claire] "Easy. I'm not trying to hurt you."

"I don't believe you! Stay away from me or I'll shoot!" said Young Claire.

"Where did you come from? What are you doing out here? said Stryker.

"I can ask the same thing to you. Who are you people?"

"My name is Stryker the jackal. I'm the captain of a band of thieves called, the Jackal Squad."

"Band of thieves? Jackal Squad?"

"Yes. Me and my squad just got back from a town called, Tombstoneville."

"That's my old hometown!" Young Claire thought. [To stryker.] "What business did you have in that town?"

"We came to visit Tombstoneville, to see if it had any rare items for us. So we can steal for a hefty bounty."

"Well? Did you find what you were looking for?"

"For the most part, yeah. Now, are you going to tell me why you're out here all by yourself?"

"….. I….. escaped Tombstoneville. It was my hometown."

"Why did you leave?"

"For my own reasons! It's none of your concern!"

"Okay, then. How would you like to join us?"

Lowers her pistol. "Join you?"

"Yes. You seem to be good with a gun. I could use a shooter in the squad. So how about it?"

".…. Why should I?"

"It's just an offer. I'm not going to force you to join us, It's all up to you. I understand that you don't trust me, but is staying out in a land like this by yourself any better than joining us?"

"….."

"I get it… Fine. What a waste of time." Stryker turns around and walks back to the truck. "Never mind, boys. Let's get out of here!"

Claire is thinking hard about Stryker's offer to join the Jackal Squad. While she was thinking, Stryker gets in the truck, and starts the engine.

"Boss, you're just going to leave her out here?" Ace asks.

"It's her choice, Ace. Sometimes, you've just gotta let people choose what they want to do. Now, let's get back to base."

As soon as Stryker was about to drive off, Claire comes up to the window, stopping him.

"Wait! I've made my decision. I…. I want to join the squad!" said Young Claire.

"Really?" said Stryker.

"Yes. And…. I want to be stronger. Even stronger than I am now. Can you make that happen?"

Stryker smirks. "Hmph! That's a guarantee, kid. Hop in." said Stryker.

Claire happily gets in the truck and they all drove off.

"By the way, what's your name?" said Stryker.

"Claire… I'm Claire the jackal."

"Well, Claire. Welcome aboard." said Stryker.

Flashback ends.

* * *

[Target practice area, day]

Back to Zero and Claire.

"Joining the jackal squad turned out to be the best decision I've ever made. They trained me, cared for me, and treated me like family. I've dedicated my life to Stryker for taking me in. I now have a new purpose, and that is to follow my father's footsteps. By becoming the greatest gun slinging outlaw of all time. And become one of the best mercenaries in our new empire."

"I see." Zero thought.

"Hey, Claire! Are you done yet? What's taking so long?" said Scar.

To Scar. "Oh yeah, I'm done!" To Zero. "Well, you should go see the other warehouses."

"You're not coming?" Zero asks.

"Nah. I'll stay here, and keep training by myself till later." said Claire.

"Okay. Suit yourself." Zero exits the target practice area. "So, it seems that everyone in this squad has a reason to seek for a better purpose."

* * *

[Combat area, Afternoon]

Scar, Ace, Brawn, and Radar shows Zero the combat area.

"This is the combat area. We all come in here to train and work out together."

Zero looks at Brawn and compares his muscle mass with Scar, and Ace. There is a gap between him and those three in brute strength.

"This guy looks like he train more than those three." Zero thought.

Zero then looks at the swords. "Swords, huh?" said Zero. He picks one of them up. It was a light-brown sword. "Nice." After a minute of examining the sword, Zero puts it back where it was placed.

Ace calls Zero. "Zero!"

"Coming." said Zero.

Ace shows Zero a small room. Inside, it has a huge snack machine, drinking vintage, table, and a sofa. "This is the snack room."

"What place did you guys steal all of these from?" Zero asks.

"For the machines, we stole them from local gas stations. We built the table, and as for the couch, we ordered and have it delivered to us." said Ace.

Zero goes back and looks at the swords again. "I'm interested in these swords."

Scar walks up to Zero. "Figured you would. The boss is the best when it comes to swordplay, I'm sure he can teach you."

"Stryker seems like he is an amazing guy." said Zero.

"We don't call him the ultimate mercenary for nothing, you know. He's more experienced with this stuff than all of us combined." said Scar.

"I see." said Zero. Speaking, in thought. "Soon…. I will become the new ultimate mercenary."

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ, Afternoon]

Meanwhile, back in the Jackal Squad HQ. Stryker comes in to talk to Radar.

"Hey, boss." said Radar.

"Hello, Radar. What do you think of Zero?" said Radar.

"Well, he wasn't all talk when he said that he's a thief like all of us. He did rather well. What do you think?" said Radar.

"He has potential. But I don't want to send him out on missions with us just yet. I feel that he needs more training. And he also needs to learn how to defend himself, if he's going to go out in the field." said Stryker.

"Well, how long do you think the training will take?" Radar asks.

Stryker looks at the computer monitor, as it replays Zero's performance in the lion's den. "It depends if he's willing to want to become stronger. Or perhaps, if he wants to surpass me someday."

End of chapter 3.


	4. Motivation to achieve greatness

[Training Facility, day]

Few hours later, Stryker returns to the training facility. After he returned, Zero told him what he wanted to learn, offscreen.

"So you want to learn swordplay, huh?" said Stryker.

"Yes, I do! Can you teach me, boss?" said Zero.

"Hmm… sure, I'll teach you." Zero gets excited. "But first, I want you to train with the others."

Confused. "What? Why?" Zero asks.

"For two reasons. The first one is that you need to start building better relationships with them. Second, I want you to learn other abilities rather than just learning swordplay." said Stryker.

"Well, what can I possibly learn from them? I know the woman's a gunslinger, but firearms isn't my style. And what about the other three? Especially, the big guy who's as silent as a mouse." Zero asks.

"So, that's what you think." Stryker calls Brawn from his communicator. "Brawn. Report to me in front of the entrance to the lion's den."

Brawn appears, and he writes of his notepad. Saying… "Private Brawn reporting for duty, sir."

"Nice entrance, Brawn. Now you two, follow me." said Stryker.

Zero and Brawn follows Stryker to an area far away from the facility.

* * *

[Desert, day]

Stryker led the two jackals out in the middle of nowhere in the desert.

"So, boss. Why are we all the way out here?" Zero asks.

To Brawn. "Brawn. Why don't you show, Zero, what you're capable of?" said Stryker.

"Yes, sir." Brawn wrote.

Brawn puts away his notepad, then he quickly runs towards a giant boulder. He grabs and picks up the massive rock with ease.

Zero is shocked that Brawn is this strong. "WHAT!? HOW DID HE?"

Brawn throws the boulder up in the air. He jumps up to it and with just one punch, he shatters it into a million pieces. Zero looks shocked, and Stryker noticed.

"So Zero, what do you think about him now?" Stryker asks.

Shocked. "You're supposed to be stronger than him?" Zero asks.

"In terms of physical strength, Brawn has the upper hand. However, when someone has more experience in fighting, and is smarter than you. Then that alone trumps pure strength every time." said Stryker.

Brawn lands back on the ground, and approaches Stryker and Zero. Then he takes out his notepad and writes… "Is that all you needed me to do, boss?"

"No, that's not all. I want you to help Zero get physically stronger." said Stryker.

"But, what about our missions?" Brawn wrote.

"The squad is on hiatus for the time being. No need to worry." said Stryker.

"Okay, boss. I'll do my best." Brawn wrote.

* * *

[Workout warehouse, Afternoon]

Brawn and Zero enters the fourth and last warehouse in the training facility. The workout warehouse. Inside the house, resembles that of a normal workout center. There are lots of heavy weights, pull up bars, treadmills, punching bags, etc.

"So this is my first lesson? Working out?" Zero asks.

Brawn writes. "Yes." Then he flips to another page of his notepad, and writes…. "Self improvement is always necessary for more intense training."

"Oh, come on. I don't need that much improvement on my strength, do I?" said Zero.

Brawn looks at Zero's body. Then writes… "Yes. Because compared to me and the other guys, you have the physical strength of a woman."

Zero gets offended.

"I think I've just added another person on my hate list." Zero thought.

To Brawn. "So instead of trying to crack jokes about me, can we get started now?" Zero asks.

"First, we'll start with the basics." Flips to the next page. "Drop and give me 10 pushups!"

"Push-ups? Pfft. That's easy!" said Zero.

Zero gets down into push-up position and he starts off doing five. He starts slowing down after doing six, and he completely stops after doing eight push-ups.

"Well, you almost had it. That's something." Brawn wrote.

Tiredly looks at Brawn. "S-Shut up!"

"Hey, it's not my fault you're in bad shape." Brawn wrote.

Zero growls at Brawn for a two seconds. Then he stops and asks Brawn a question. "Come to think of it, Brawn. Why do you have to write on a notepad to communicate with others? Can't you talk?"

Brawn gets depressed when Zero asked him why can't he talk directly. Then he writes another sentence on his notepad.

"No. I can't talk." Brawn wrote.

Gets up. "Hm? Why?" Zero asks.

"Well. It's a long story." Brawn wrote.

"What was your life like before you met Stryker? And what made you decide to join the jackal squad?" Zero asks.

Brawn started writing on his notepad, faster than he usually do. After he finish writing on a sheet of paper, he tears off the paper, and writes on another sheet.

"Wow, he writes pretty fast." Zero thought.

Zero picks up the paper Brawn ripped off, and he reads them.

* * *

[Enter Flashback: Forest night]

One night, there was a baby jackal abandoned out in the woods. It was crying it's eyes out, and it's parents were nowhere to be seen. This is the story of Brawn, and he is narrating.

Brawn narrating. "When I was a baby, I was left out in the middle of the woods. I never knew who my parents was, but judging how I was brought up, they abandoned me for unknown reasons."

Then a couple of citizens found Baby Brawn. One is a male and the other one is a female.

"A baby?" said Citizen #1. She picks up Baby Brawn, and is trying to get him to stop crying. "There, there."

"What is he doing out here all alone?" Citizen #2 asks. [He Looks around.] "Where is his parents?"

"It seems like they abandoned him." Baby Brawn keeps crying, despite the woman trying to calm him down. "We need to get him out of here."

The two people takes Brawn, and leaves the forest offscreen.

* * *

[Orphanage, day]

Narrating. "I was found by a couple of people, who worked at a local orphanage. For the last eight years of my life, I was in and out of that place. The people who've decided to adopt me, ended up giving me back, because the responsibility of taking care of a child was too much for them to handle. Some of them had mistreated me to the point where the police had to be called in order to take me away from them. I felt I was worthless and unwanted due to how many times I've been picked up and dropped back off again. But there was hope when a man came to adopt me when I just turned 8 years old. At first I had doubt that I would last long with him. But, I was proven wrong. I actually stayed with him, and he was the man who gave me my new name. He was the kindest and the most honorable man I've ever knew. His name was "Joseph the wolf". He was an army soldier, that served under a military organization called H.A.M, which stands for Honor Among Men."

* * *

[H.A.M Academy, day]

Brawn was 12 years old, and he was jogging outside with other children. In the honor among men's children training academy. They were all wearing t-shirts and army pants.

"When I was twelve years old. I wanted to join the army, so I could make him proud to see that his son wanted to follow his footsteps. So I started training classes for young boys, who wants to become actual soldiers in the organization."

* * *

[School, day]

Brawn was in class. The classroom was full of young boys of different species, and the teacher was teaching his class about the history of his country and the government. Brawn was very focused in class, as he was taking notes, and listening to everything the teacher was saying.

"I have been training and working so hard to make my dream come true."

* * *

[Obstacle Course, day]

Brawn, grown up, was in the main academy's obstacle course.

"All of that hard work has finally paid off. When I was eighteen years old, I was good enough for the officials to let me join the army. There was a lot of bumps in the road, but I never gave up. I went through all the blood, sweat, and tears. But it was all worth it in the end."

* * *

[H.A.M Graduation Ceremony, day]

A ceremony is taken place inside of H.A.M facility. The mayor of Brawn's country stands at a podium.

"These men have gone through the most intense training to get here. These men are willing to risk their lives for our country. They are brave, strong, fearless, and noble. And for all of that, we welcome these soldiers into the honor among men family. Starting off with one of the newest recruits. [Looks at Brawn.] We proudly welcome, Brawn the Jackal!" said the town mayor. The audience including Joseph claps for Brawn.

Brawn in full soldier uniform, walks up with pure confidence.

Joseph cries. "Well, done. My son."

The mayor places the badge on brawn's uniform. Then he turns to the audience. This is the time where Brawn is able to talk. "Thank you! Thank you very much!"

In Brawn's life-story in the army, He was bonding with soldiers and having drinks with them, going out into battles, training with his squad, and he was building a bigger relationship with Joseph.

"For the past 10 years. I've been serving my country, building friendships with my squad, and I was considered as one of the best soldiers in the army. My life felt complete. Until… that day…."

* * *

[H.A.M Laboratory]

In a laboratory, a group of scientists are creating a strange experimental pod. Brawn enters the laboratory and one of the scientists greets him.

"Hello, Brawn. We're glad you're here." said Scientist #1

"Why was I called here?" Brawn asks. [Looks at the pod.] "What's that supposed to be?"

"It's an experiment that we've created. We call it "The Alpha Project". This experiment is designed to turn one of our most finest soldiers, into the ultimate weapon that'll make our entire forces more powerful than ever. You, Brawn. Have been chosen to be the first test subject for this experiment." said Scientist #1

"Me?"

"Yes. The generals considered you as a perfect soldier to try it out. They also think you're one of the best soldiers around." said Scientist #1

"Wait, really?"

"Yes." said Scientist #1.

"Well, that's amazing and all, but is this thing safe?" Brawn asks.

"Of course, Brawn. We made sure it is. Now, we need you to step inside the pod, so we can begin." said Scientist #1.

"Well, if you say so." said Brawn.

Brawn enters the pod, and the scientists closes the hatch. One of them turns on the switch, the pod started shaking, and there is smoke coming out of it. In a couple of minutes, the machine stops shaking, and the smoke was clearing.

"Did it work?" Scientist #2 asks.

"Let's find out." said Scientist #1.

The scientists opens the pod, and a huge mist of smoke is coming out of it. Brawn walks out of the pod, more muscular and powerful than he was before.

"Holy, cow! It Worked!" said Scientist #1. All of the scientists started celebrating.

Brawn looks at himself. He is amazed of how strong the experiment made him. "Whoa, this my body? I-I can't believe this."

Suddenly, the building was shaking, and the alarms are going off. The scientists started panicking and Brawn runs back into headquarters.

* * *

[H.A.M HQ]

While arriving, all of the soldiers are gearing up to battle against the unknown attackers. Joseph was leading them all out, and Brawn approaches him.

"EVERYONE! GET INTO BATTLE FORM! GO, GO, GO!" Joseph shouts.

"FATHER, WHAT'S GOING ON!?" Brawn asks.

Joseph noticed that Brawn is stronger than he was before. "BRAWN!? HOW DID YOU GET SO-"

"I DON'T HAVE TIME TO EXPLAIN! WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

"BY WHO!?"

"TERRORISTS! WE GOTTA GET OUT THERE! GRAB YOUR WEAPONS!"

"ROGER!"

Joseph runs outside and joined the battle. Brawn grabs his armor and weapons, then he rushes out to join his father and his squad in the battlefield.

* * *

[Outside, day]

The entire military was under attack. There are a lot of enemy planes dropping bombs all over the place, tanks are firing, and the army soldiers and terrorists are shooting at each other. Brawn gets behind cover, loaded his gun, then he starts shooting from cover. Suddenly, a tank appeared out of nowhere, and fires a missile at Brawn. Brawn dodges the missile, by jumping high in the air, and lands on top of the roof of HQ.

Shocked. "Whoa! How did I-"

Brawn was interrupted by the tank firing at him, but it missed. It fired another missile at Brawn, only for him to dodge it by jumping up in the air. Brawn landed on top of the tank, and it exploded. Brawn somehow survived the explosion, and he is very surprised that he destroyed the tank, and survived the explosion.

"How the heck did I survive that!? This new strength is something else!" [Brawn realized that he is out in the open, and the terrorist soldiers are shooting at him.] "OH, SHOOT! I GOTTA MOVE!" [Brawn dashed away and gets behind cover. He ran faster than he ever went before.] "So this stuff not only increases your strength and acrobatic skills, it also increases your speed." [Brawn then puts on a sadistic smile.] "Heh-heh! Looks like you clowns picked the wrong army to start a fight with. I hope you've said your last prayers, because it's time for me to clean house."

Brawn gets out of cover and he is shooting at the terrorists. His new powers and abilities made him unstoppable in the battlefield. He was taking out the soldiers, and he was dodging bullets and missiles with ease. Brawn catches up with his squad, and they all noticed that Brawn is stronger and faster than ever.

"You guys okay?" Brawn asks.

Surprised. "We're good. Thanks, Brawn." said H.A.M soldier #1

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?" H.A.M soldier #2

"Heh… technology at it's finest. Now stay sharp, lets take these guys out!"

Brawn dashes back out in the fight. One of the soldiers takes out a walkie talky and reports to the higher-ups at HQ.

* * *

[H.A.M HQ]

Back at the base. There is a general and there is one of the scientists.

"Command! Do you read me!? I-I don't believe it! We were all pinned down, but Brawn showed up and he took out the enemies with relative ease! You guys have got to see this!" Said H.A.M soldier #1 over the radio.

"So this is the results of project alpha." said the general.

"Indeed, sir. Project alpha is designed to increase the soldiers strength, speed, durability, and power by 100 folds. The experiment is a complete success." said scientist #1.

"If only we have more men with that power."

"I believe Brawn is more than enough to win this battle, sir."

* * *

[Outside, day]

Back out in the battlefield. Joseph and his squad are firing behind cover. They manage to take out a few terrorists, but they are completely outnumbered and pinned down.

"Captain! What do we do now? There's too many of them!" said H.A.M soldier #3.

"Just keep firing! Back-ups on the way!" said Joseph.

Joseph and his squad are trying their best to stay alive, and fight back. The terrorists are closing in on them. Brawn shows up, takes out the soldiers, and joins them behind cover.

"Father!"

"Brawn! Thank goodness you're here!"

Brawn reloads his gun, then shoots behind cover. "Don't worry, I got your ba-UGH!"

"Brawn?" Brawn is twitching uncontrollable, and he collapses on the ground. "BRAWN!" Joseph goes up to Brawn and checks to see what's wrong with him. "WHAT'S WRONG!? BRAAAAWN!" Joseph pulls Brawn away from enemy fire, then he calls for backup. "COMMAND! BRAWN NEEDS TO BE PICKED UP NOW! I REPEAT, BRAWN IS DOWN! HE NEEDS HELP!"

* * *

[H.A.M HQ]

"WHAAT!?" Turns and looks at the scientist. "WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED!?" The general asks.

Nervous. "It appears there is a side effect in the experiment!" said Scientist #1.

"SIDE EFFECT!? YOU MORON! HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW THE EFFECTS IN YOUR OWN EXPERIMENT!?"

"Well I-"

"You know what? Shut up! I don't want to hear your excuses!" Contacts Joseph. "Captain Joseph. Support team is on the way, get Brawn to the evacuation now!"

* * *

[Outside, day]

"Understood!" said Joseph.

"What's wrong with him, captain?" H.A.M soldier #4 asks.

"I don't know, but we need to get him away from here!" Joseph picks up Brawn. "I'll carry him, cover us!"

"Yes, sir!" said the squad.

The squad picks up their armored shields, and they guard Joseph as he carries Brawn to safety.

"Stay with me, my son! Stay with me!"

Enemies were following the squad. The squad is shooting at them, trying to keep them away from Joseph. Later on, the squad managed to get to evacuation. They take Brawn off of Joseph's shoulders.

"We're here, son! They'll take care of you now!" [To the support team] "Take care of him."

"Don't worry, captain. He'll be fine."

The team drives off to take Brawn to the hospital. Joseph and his squad runs back into the battle.

* * *

[H.A.M Hospital]

Brawn was in the hospital, lying down on the bed. He has bandages on his right arm, and his body became very skinny.

"My body was shutting down on me that day. The war went on for who knows how long, while I was in the hospital. I was out cold for a while, then I eventually woke up. And when I did, the side effects of the alpha project was so bad, that it messed up my vocal chords. And my body became weaker than it was before I went in that pod. Due to those side effects, I've lost my ability to speak, and it made me weak."

The general comes in to check on Brawn.

"Hey, Brawn. How are you holding up?" the general asks. Brawn angrily looks at the general. "Still not good, huh? Well, we've found the reason what happened to you with the alpha project. Those side effects were triggered, because you went out to fight after you've just got out of the pod. The chemicals didn't have time to get use to your body. If you had rested for at least a day, then it wouldn't have turn out to be like this."

Brawn reaches for his notepad and pencil, and he writes on it. After he finished writing, he showed it to the general. "Where is my father?"

The general becomes sad when Brawn asked him that question. "Well… that's another thing I need to tell you. Brawn… your father….. he's dead." Brawn is shocked. "Also, the military is taking you off the record. You're being discharged." Brawn was even more shocked. He drops his pencil and notepad. "I'm sorry, Brawn." The general leaves the room.

* * *

[Funeral, cloudy day]

The military held a funeral, for all of the soldiers who died during the terrorist attack. Each group of soldiers are carrying a coffin, and bagpipes were playing. Brawn was sitting in the audience, crying for his father.

"They at least let me attend the funeral for my father and my fallen comrades."

* * *

[Road, cloudy day]

Brawn packed his things, and left the military. He is seen walking alone on the road, and he is carrying his stuff in a military bag.

"After the funeral. I was walking on the road, hoping that I could find somewhere to stay. They didn't give me no car, no support, no bus, nothing. They just saw me as of no use to them anymore. So they just tossed me out like trash. Because of them and that blasted experiment, I lost everything. My father, my voice, my strength, my dignity, my dream, everything. Until… I encountered, Stryker."

A truck approaches behind Brawn, inside was a younger Stryker, and he see's Brawn.

"Huh?" Stryker stops the truck. Brawn turns around and sees Stryker getting out of the truck. "Hey, buddy. You need any help?" Stryker asks.

Brawn takes out his notepad, and he is writing down his words. Stryker is wondering why Brawn is writing on a notepad to communicate with him. Brawn shows Stryker the notepad.

"I'm good. No, thank you!" Brawn wrote.

"You sure? It looks like you could use a hand?"

"I said, no! Now, leave me alone!" Brawn puts down his notepad, and walks away from Stryker.

"It appears he can't talk. Wonder why he's out here all by himself." Stryker thought.

Stryker looks at Brawns bag, then he asks him a question. "Hey, are you a soldier?" Stryker asks.

Brawn stops walking, and answers Stryker's question. "Former soldier. Why does it concern you?"

"Guess you and I have a thing in common. I was an army soldier too."

"Well, good for you! Now, go away!"

Brawn starts walking off again.

"Hey, would you like to join me?" Stryker asks.

Brawn stops walking, looks at Stryker, and writes. "Join you for what?"

"I'm working on building my own military empire for thieves."

"And just how are you going to do that?"

"By stealing and selling off valuable items to earn the money to do so. I'm making good progress so far, but I'll need my own squad to help me out. So how about it?"

Writes. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm not a thief." Brawn flips to another page of his notepad and wrote. "And even if I was a thief, why should I trust you?"

"You don't have to, I was just offering. Another reason why I'm doing this, is because I also want to build the strongest mercenary bounty hunters of all time."

Brawn becomes interested with what Stryker said on creating the strongest mercenaries. "The strongest mercenaries of all time?"

"Yeah. I've learned a lot of things from the army, that'll help make my men become stronger and survive in this world. If my dream comes true, my team will also get huge amounts of money. So what do you say? Do you want in or out?"

Brawn comes to his decision, and wrote. "If I can get my strength back and a new purpose…" Flips to the next page and wrote. "Then, I'm in."

Stryker smiles at Brawn. "Welcome aboard. Hop in!" Brawn and Stryker gets in the truck. "I'm Stryker, by the way. What's your name?"

"My name is Brawn the jackal." Brawn wrote.

"Brawn, huh? Nice name." said Stryker.

They drive away.

"At the time. I didn't trust Stryker, and I thought what he's trying to do is nothing more than a pipe dream. But I didn't want to feel like I'm worthless anymore. And aside from the experiment going wrong, I did love that strength and power I had from it. If I refused Stryker's offer, I wouldn't know where to find a new purpose, and I wouldn't be able to find a way to get that strength back."

* * *

[Workout warehouse, afternoon]

Zero is reading the last page of Brawn's narration on his backstory.

"For twenty years of my life, I've been training and working under Stryker. And I have absolutely no regrets. I finally have a new purpose and a family once again. I will continue to get stronger, and help achieved our goal to build our own empire, or die trying."

Finished reading Brawn's narration. And he started to pity Brawn for what happened to him. But he doesn't show it to him. "I see. That's quite a motivation, Brawn." said Zero.

"Thanks." Brawn wrote.

"Well, we should continue my training. So, what do I have to do next?"

* * *

[Dining room, Night]

Back at HQ, it was night-time. The jackal squad was in the dining room eating dinner, but Zero is not with them.

Relaxed. "Ah. It's good to be on vacation from missions." said Claire.

"Enjoy it while it last. In a couple of weeks. You, Ace, and Scar will start training, Zero." said Stryker.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." said Claire. Then she takes a sip of her soda.

"Speaking of, Zero. Why isn't he here with us?" Ace asks.

"He trained too hard, so I told him to get some rest." Brawn wrote.

"Has he at least eaten something before going off to bed?" Radar asks.

"Yeah. I made sure I fed him." Brawn wrote.

"Kid's got spirit I'll give him that. However, even though he passed the initiation, I still have my worries about him." said Scar

"There's no need to worry about him, Scar." said Stryker. Takes a bite of his cooked meat, and swallows. "There's more to him than what you guys think. You'll see." Stryker takes another bite.

* * *

[Zero's room, night]

While the other jackal's are eating in the dinning room. Zero was in his bathroom, taking a shower. On his drawer, there is an empty plate with food crumbs on it, and an empty glass cup. Zero was humming in the shower, then he turns off the water, and dries himself off.

Zero Yawns. "That was quite a workout." said Zero. Zero walks out of his bathroom, then he gets in the bed. "I didn't do as well as I expected. But I'll get better later on. Now, it's time to get some shut-eye."

Zero falls asleep.

* * *

[Workout warehouse, day]

7 days later. Zero is doing pushups, while Brawn watches him.

"…. 16!" said Zero. Then he stops.

"Getting better." Brawn wrote.

Panting. "I've….been working….out on…my own as well!"

"That's great, Zero!" [Flips to another page and wrote.] "If you keep doing what you're doing, then you'll get strong in no time."

Zero stands up. "So what's next? Sit-ups again?"

"No. Take a thirty minute break." [Flips to another page and wrote.] "Then meet me back here when it's over."

Zero: Very well.

* * *

[Training facility, day]

Zero walks outside. Then he sees Scar with his back against the wall and his arms are crossed. Scar sees Zero and greets him.

"Hey, kid. How's the training with Brawn going?" Scar asks

"Going well. How's your vacation?" Zero asks.

"I needed it!" Scar gets his back off the wall. "Come with me. I want to talk to you alone."

Confused. "Huh?" said Zero.

* * *

[Desert, day]

Zero and Scar are taking a walk outside of the training facility.

"Ah, so that's why you hated your name." said Scar.

"Yes. The name, Zero, felt like it's a name for a weakling. And I absolutely loathe the thought of me being weak." said Stryker.

"That's understandable. You know… the boss actually likes you."

"That's a good sign. Hey, Scar!"

"Hmm?"

"If you don't mind telling me. Why did you join Stryker and the jackal squad?"

"Well, since we're partners, I might as well tell ya. I didn't join him alone."

"You didn't?"

Scar shakes his head as a no. "Ace and Radar was with me."

* * *

[Enter Flashback: Grey City Orphanage, day]

Taking place in a dark orphanage.

Scar narrating. "When I was a brat, I grew up in an orphanage in grey city. I didn't know who my parents was and why they chose to set me up for adoption. But I stopped caring, eventually."

Inside the orphanage, the scene shows a young scar, who looks miserable along with a group of other children.

"That orphanage was anything but a happy place. The staff members, the food, service, and most of the other kids was completely lousy. I wasn't born with a name. For some reason, they didn't bother to come up with one for me. But on the bright side is, that it was the place where I met my two best friends, Radar and Ace." [Young Scar, Ace, and Radar was sitting in a circle talking to each other.] "Like me, their folks gave them up when they were babies, and they didn't have names either. So we came up with one for each of us. We gave Radar his name, because he was always the smartest and the best inventor we've ever knew. We gave Ace his name, because he was always the clever one. And they gave me the name, Scar. Because I was always the toughest one of the group. Ace and I was 8 years old and Radar was 7 when we first met."

* * *

[Outside, night]

The three young jackals escaped the orphanage, while everyone was sleeping. They escaped using the old tying the bed sheets and used it to climb out the window trick.

"We decided to ditch that cruddy place. We didn't know where we was going to go, but anywhere is better than that place."

* * *

[Grey City, night]

The three jackals are out in the streets. Stealing food and water to survive. And they were avoiding the police, patrolling around the town.

"We've been avoiding the cops, and we were stealing food and water from grocery stores. Heck! We've got to eat something and we can't get jobs. So we didn't have a choice but to steal in order to survive in the streets. The police was getting too hot for us, so we had to find a way to escape the city. While we were searching for a way to leave grey city, we've encountered Stryker and Brawn."

Stryker and Brawn parked the truck on the parking lot of a local gas station. They both gets out of the car.

"Are you sure you don't have to go to the bathroom, boss?" Brawn wrote.

"Positive. I'm just going to buy us some snacks. I should warn you. Public bathrooms have a reputation of being horrifically disgusting." said Stryker.

"Thanks for the heads up. But won't we need gas?" Brawn wrote.

"We've got plenty of gas, Brawn. Now, come on. Let's hurry up and get inside." said Brawn.

Brawn and Stryker enters the gas station. From across the streets, the three young jackals are hiding in the bushes. And they've been spying on Stryker and Brawn the whole time.

"Those guys don't seem to be from this town." Young Ace.

"It looks like they're travelers." said Young Radar.

Young Scar smirks evilly. "Heh, perfect!" Takes out a pocket knife. "You guys remember what we've planned?" Young Scar asks.

"Yep." said Young Ace.

"Yes. But are sure it'll work?" Young Radar asks.

"Yeah. How else are we going to get out of this town without getting caught?" said Young Scar.

"That isn't what I'm worried about. It's those guys. They look to be pretty strong and also scary. Especially, the one with the eye patch." said Young Radar.

"Tch! Those clowns don't scare me!" said Young Scar.

"And you shouldn't let them scare you either, Radar. You'll never survive in this world if you're afraid of it." said Young Ace.

"Well, I guess you're right, Ace." said Young Radar

"Aren't I always? Now since your our lookout, go make sure there aren't any cops around." said Young Ace.

"Roger." said Young Radar.

They all put on their silly animal masks. Young Radar gets out of the bushes and he looks around the area to make sure there's no police officers around. Since it's night-time, there's not many people driving or walking out in the streets.

"Coast is clear, come on!" All three of them approaches the truck.

* * *

[Gas station, night]

Meanwhile, inside the gas station. Stryker bought a hand basket full of chips, sodas, candy, and many other junk food.

"Thank you, sir. Have a nice night." said the cashier

"Same to you." said Stryker. Stryker meets Brawn at the front door. "Okay, we've got all the food we need. Now lets get out this city."

The two jackals leaves the gas station, and gets back in the truck. It seems quiet for the moment, until….

"Freeze!" said the kids.

Young Scar holds Stryker at knife point, while Young Ace and Radar are using one of the swords from the trunk to hold Brawn hostage.

"AH!" Stryker looks at Young Scar. "WHAT THE!? WHO THE HECK ARE-"

"Don't talk! Just drive, old man!" said Young Scar.

"Hmm…. fine."

Stryker starts the truck and he starts driving. Despite being held hostage, Stryker is rather calm about the situation.

"Keep driving! You two are gonna help us get out of this town!" said Young Scar.

"You don't stop until we tell you to! Understand?" Young Ace asks.

"Yeah, yeah." said Stryker.

* * *

[Desert, night]

Stryker drives out of the city and on his own choice, he stops the car.

"What the!? Hey! Who told you to stop!?" Young Ace asked.

"You said you want to get out of grey city. Now, you're out. So, what's the problem?" Stryker asked.

"We want to be far, far away from the city! And did you forget what we said? You don't stop until we tell you to! Now keep driving!" said Young Scar.

"Hmm… nah, I think I'll stay put." said Stryker.

Young Scar puts the knife closer to Stryker's neck. "DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH, OLD MAN!?"

Stryker smirks. "Why would I want to make one? You ain't gonna do it anyway."

"What!?" said Young Scar.

"Even if you do kill us, what can you possibly gain from it? Where are you gonna to go when some other traveler comes by and see's our bodies? Then they call the cops and they set out a manhunt to find you? Not to mention… you three ain't got the guts." said Stryker.

"Don't play with us!" said Young Radar.

"I can tell by the tone of your voices. You guys are just trying to act intimidating. But those are just threats and you've never actually killed a man before, have you?"

"So what if we haven't?" said Young Ace.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Kid. You have no idea who you're holding hostage. Have you noticed that I'm not even remotely scared? You wanna know why? Because I've been in worse situations than this. I've faced and experience the worst kinds of people. The type of people that'll make you tremble in fear just by hearing their names. I've also faced a lot of bad men in my life." [Stryker opens his eyepatch, and shows the kids his huge scar on it.] "Where do you think I got this from?" [Stryker laughs evilly.]

The boys are starting to get scared.

Trying to hide his fear. "I-I get it. Yeah! Y-You're just trying to scare us!" said Young Scar.

"Really?"

Stryker smacks the knife away from Young Scar, then he puts him in a choke-hold.

"SCAR!" said Young Ace and Radar.

The two tries to help their friend, but Brawn snatches the sword away from them. Then he points it at them.

"Don't move!" Brawn wrote.

Both of them listens to Brawn and stays still. Scar is trying to break loose from Stryker's grip. Stryker isn't putting any pressure on the choke.

"Argh-let get of me!" Young Scar demands.

"I'll give you some advice, little man. You had a decent idea to find a way out of the city. But if you're going to try to hold someone hostage, at least make sure they're not driving a military vehicle. Because that person could be heavily trained to defend themselves from the army. And they could take you down in a second, even if you're armed with a knife." said Stryker.

Moments later, all three of the boys are being tied up by Brawn. And they're sitting outside of the right side of the vehicle, as Stryker looks at them. Brawn is finished tying them up, and he stands beside Stryker.

Mad. "Fine! You got us, gramps! Now, what are you gonna to do?" Young Scar asked.

Thinking. "Hmmm… I really could turn you all in to the police." [The boys gasps.] "I saw a missing poster outside the gas station, and the missing boys looks a lot like you three. There's also a bounty of a thousand dollars for whoever finds the boys and brings them to the police. I mean, it's not that much of a reward to me, but hey, money is money." [The boys are really scared.] "But…."

"Huh?" said the kids.

"I don't like to deal with cops anymore than you do. And you three are an interesting bunch, so I would like to make you an offer." said Stryker.

"Offer?" said Young Radar.

"Yeah. I'm looking for some thieves to be in my squad to help with a goal I want to achieve. You three seem like you could be of some use, so would you like to join us?"

"Join you!? Why would we ever-" said Young Scar.

To Young Scar. "Hey! Hey! Scar!" said Young Ace.

"What!?"

"Let me handle this." To Stryker. "What are you trying to accomplish?" Young Ace asked.

"I'm trying to steal and collect enough money to build our own empire. For the strongest and the most worthy bounty hunters in the world." said Stryker

"Bounty hunters, huh? So even if we want to join you, what's in it for us?" Young Ace asked.

"You kids will be trained under me, and when you get older, you will receive a massive cut for your hard work."

"How much money we're talking?" Young Radar asked.

"Lets see. If our mission is complete, I say about… millions of dollars."

"Wait!? Millions!?" said all three.

"That's right." Brawn taps Stryker's shoulder. And stryker looks at him. "Huh?" Then he looks back at the kids. "Just think about it for a minute."

The boys are talking to each other, while Stryker talks to Brawn. "What is it?" Stryker asked.

"Boss, are you sure it's a good idea to bring kids into this?" Brawn wrote.

"Yeah. Don't see why not." said Stryker.

"Again. They're kids!" Brawn wrote.

"I'm not going to send them out on missions just yet. I'll train them. Until they get older, that's where I'll start assigning them. So relax, I've got morals too, you know."

"Fine. As long as you know what you're doing…" [Flips to another page and wrote.] "I won't stop you."

"Hey, gramps!" said Young Scar.

"So, what do you say?" Stryker asked.

"We've come to a decision." said Young Radar.

"We're in!" All three said.

"Well, good! Brawn, untie them." Brawn does what Stryker said and unties the boys.

"So, where are we heading off now, gramps?" Young Scar asked.

Annoyed. "I rather you call me, Stryker! And we're heading off to another town to see if it has something that's worth stealing."

"Sounds good to me." said Young Ace.

"Same here." said Young Radar.

They all get back in the truck. Stryker starts the engines and drives off.

"By the way, what are your names?" Stryker asked.

"You can call me, Scar."

"I'm Radar."

"The name's Ace." Young Ace looks at Brawn and talks to him. "What about you, pal? What's your name?" Young Ace asked.

Brawn writes to Young Ace. "My name is Brawn the jackal."

The boys looks at Stryker. "Uuuuh?"

"Brawn, can't talk."

"Oh, that makes sense." said Young Radar.

* * *

[Desert, day]

Flashback ends. Back to Zero and Scar, who is still walking in the desert.

"And that's how we joined the squad." said Scar.

"You have any regrets?" Zero asked.

"What are you crazy? Of course I don't have any regrets. If we had never joined, we would probably be back at that god-forsaken orphanage. And we would gain absolutely nothing in life."

"Good choice. I think we should head back. My break's almost over and Brawn is probably waiting for me."

"Very well."

* * *

[Workout warehouse, night]

It was night-time at the training facility. Zero and Brawn just got finished with their physical training. They're both tired.

"Okay. That's enough for tonight. Let's get back to HQ and go to bed." Brawn wrote.

"Understood." said Zero.

* * *

[Jackal squad HQ, night]

The two jackals drove back to HQ. They get out of the truck and enters HQ. Only to find Stryker sitting down in his chair, drinking soda.

"Boss? You're still awake?" Zero asked.

"Yep. I was waiting for you two to return." To Brawn. "Brawn. I would like to talk to Zero alone."

Brawn nods his head and wrote. "Well, good night, Zero."

"Yeah. Good night." Brawn heads off to bed. To Stryker. "So what do you want to talk to me about, boss?"

"Sit down, Zero." Zero sits down on a chair, that is placed in front of Stryker. "I want to ask you something. What are your thoughts on the world?" Stryker asked.

"The world? Well, I'm not really sure what to think of it." said Zero.

"Hmm… I see. I'll tell you. You see, Zero. The world is not all about peace, kindness, and all of that other nonsense. It's about struggling and fighting for personal goals that you want to achieve. It is a world where you can't keep a blissful life if you are weak. Because there's always going to be that one somebody who wants to take it all away from you. If you're strong, then there's a chance that you could keep that somebody away from you and your life. But if your weak, then that somebody will take everything away from you. And walk all over you just because they can, and you allow them to do it. This world is about survival and only the strong survives, and live their lives as they want to live. While the weak gets trampled by the strong."

"You've told me that before. But why do you think that?" Zero asked.

"Let me tell you a story, Zero. A story that perfectly describes my thoughts on the world."

* * *

[Enter Flashback: Prison camp, cloudy day]

This the story of Stryker's upbringing. The scene takes place inside a prison camp.

Stryker narrating. "My old lady died when I was first born. She was prisoner of a terrorist organization called as M.A.A.A.G, which stands for Men At Arms And Glory. When I was a baby, the terrorist leader decided to raise me. He was also the man who gave me my name. When I was eight years old, they started training me, and it was one of the harshest things I've ever experienced. All of that training is how I lost my eye."

* * *

[City, day]

Young Stryker was fighting in battle. The M.A.A.A.G organization was at war with another country.

"When I was 10 years old, I was sent out to invade and attack other countries. It was my first time going out in the battlefield. Along the way, I've seen nothing but suffering and misery. But the more I've seen them, the more I understand how the world really works. The organization I was raised in was not a place I could call a home. But It was a strong organization, and the countries we've been at war with was nothing but weaklings. Their will to fight was nothing compared to ours."

* * *

[Grand Metropolis, day]

7 years later, Stryker was commanding his squad, while they're engaging in battle with Grand Metropolis.

"I didn't stay there for long, however. When I was 17, I was assigned as head captain of my combat squad. My boss, the terrorist leader, had launched an attack on another city called, Grand Metropolis. And he sure made a stupid decision to attack that city. But… he was a war maniac, so it makes sense why he wouldn't think it through."

Moments later, teen Stryker looks like he had been struck in his arm, and he is shown to be running away from enemy fire. The soldiers were firing lasers all over the place. Stryker looks around and he sees a sewer in an alley way. Stryker runs to it, opens the top, then he enters the sewer and kept running. Later on, he enters a sewer pipe, that leads him to a creek outside of Metropolis.

"My squad was getting annihilated. So I had no choice but to run away from the battle and return to base. But once I got back, the leader was not happy to see me."

* * *

[M.A.A.A.G HQ]

The terrorist leader's men was beating on Stryker, while he was watching in disgust.

"That's enough! Stand him up!" said the leader. The men stands Stryker up and makes him look at the leader. "Stryker." The leader walks up to Stryker. "I'm very… very, disappointed in you."

Panting. "We were outnumbered! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ME TO DO!?" [The leader slaps Stryker] "AAAGH!"

"I expected you to continue fighting." He grabs Stryker by his cheeks and makes him look at him straight in the eyes. "Only cowards flee from a battle. Only weaklings abandons their will to fight! Your actions made you a failure and a disgrace to our organization." The leader whispers in Stryker's ear. "And the sad part is, I almost started to like you." Then he takes out his gun, then he shot Stryker on the side of his stomach. As Stryker is yelling in pain, the soldiers let him go, causing him to fall on the floor. "Ending you here would put you out of your misery too quickly! Get this pathetic piece of trash out of here! Take him far, far away. To a place where he can die alone!"

"Yes, sir!" said the soldiers.

* * *

[Desert, day]

The soldiers are driving in the desert. They stopped and thrown Stryker out of the truck. Then they left Stryker out there to die.

"The leader kicked me out, because I was considered weak to them. I was just laying out there, just waiting to die. I felt like that was it for me, my final chapter. Until…" An individual was riding on a camel, and he finds Stryker. The man rescues Stryker and he takes him back to his village. "There was a man who was just taking a stroll on his camel. He found me and decided to save my life."

* * *

[Desert Village, day]

At the village. The man's family healed and nursed Stryker.

"Him and his people was willing to give me a place to stay after they healed me. I chose to accept their hospitality."

Four years later, Stryker is shown waving goodbye to the people who saved him. The people waved back at him as he leaves.

"After those 4 years of staying with them, I decided to leave and go off to fulfill my dream. I miss those people, but it was my choice to do what I did."

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ]

Flashbacks are over. And the scene goes back to Stryker and Zero.

"Were there other young soldiers like you in that place?" Zero asks.

"There were." Takes a sip of his drink. "Few of them managed to survive their first day of war too. The other kids... They weren't so lucky."

Zero feels sorry for Stryker. "Wow. That's a hideous life to live. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I didn't tell you my history just because I want your pity. I'm telling you this so you can learn something. If you want to fight for something, then fight for it. Bravery is one of the things the defines you as a strong person. There's nothing worse than dying or living like a useless coward. Because that's what you'll always be remembered as by other people. Whether if they know you or not. That's a legacy that nobody in the world should have."

"I… I understand. And, boss. There's something I want to tell you."

"What? Is it about that story you made up?"

"No that's – Wait, What? You knew?"

"Zero. I've been around liars, crooks, and the worst kinds of people about 95% of my life. You think I didn't learn from being around them so much?" [Zero is silent.] "When you told me that story, I could have just kicked you out of headquarters, because I'm not so much of a fan of liars. But I liked your spirit, so I decided to let it slide and still give you a chance to prove yourself."

"Thank you, boss. Now I would like to tell you my thoughts on the word "weak"."

"Go on."

"You know I've always hated those three words. Weak, Pathetic, and Worthless. Those words describes you as nothing but a waste of air in this world. Your only purpose of existing, is to be a laughingstock to the entire world. You're meant to be an insect, waiting to be crushed by those who aren't destined to be weak. And the only accomplishment you'll ever achieve is being a pure failure. I never told you this, but I was destined to be a failure since birth."

Stryker looks surprised. "Hmm?"

"I was given the name Zero for a reason. Because I was destined to be a pathetic individual. Zero means nothing and that's what everyone thought of me. I refuse to fulfill that destiny. I've spent my whole life trying to prove that I am not worthless. I consider my old destiny to be my demons, and I'm trying to conquer those demons. By putting the past behind me and follow a new path. A path of strength and a path where I have a real meaning to my existence. When I first saw you, That was the person I saw in myself. A man full of pride, courage, bravery, and willing to do anything to achieve strength and his goal. The ultimate mercenary. That is what I want to become. So I can finally conquer my older destiny, and make a new and better one. I don't care how hard it's going to be to get where I want to be, I will succeed. I will not run and I will not prove to myself that I'm a weakling. That is why I will train to the limit. If that's what It takes to become the strongest in our new empire, then so be it."

"Zero, I-"

Stands up. "Now with all due respect, boss. It is late, I think I should be heading off to bed now. Is it okay if I can go?"

Stryker smiles. "Hmm… very well. You're dismissed."

Zero bows to Stryker. "Thank you, boss." Zero walks off.

"Hey." Zero stops and looks back at Stryker. "I haven't known you for that long. You have a long way to go. And I have yet to send you out on a mission. But…" [Stryker smiles brightly at Zero.] "You've made me proud already." [Zero smiles back at Stryker. Then heads off to bed.] "So you want to be the ultimate mercenary, huh? Heh. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope you become worthy enough for that title, kid. I wish you the best of luck."

End of chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5: Zero's improvements

[Training Facility, day]

One week later. Back at the jackal squad's training facility. Zero now begins his training with Ace and Scar.

"Alright, Zero. The boss ordered us to start training you now." said Ace.

"That's fine. So what are you going to teach me?" Zero asks.

"We're going to teach you hand-to-hand combat." said Scar.

"That? Well, I can fight a little." said Zero.

"Yeah. Well, a little, is not good enough! If you want to learn how to fight using a sword, you'll need to learn how to fight using your arms and legs." said Scar.

"Scar's right, Zero. Swords are great. But there will be times where you'll have to fight without weapons. If you don't have any good hand-to-hand self defense fighting skills, the enemy will easily take you down." said Ace.

"I see what you mean. So what are we going to start off with?" Zero asks.

"I'll go first. [Ace walks up to Zero.] Alright, Zero. I want you to come at me."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? If we're going to train you, I have to see how you fight so Scar and I can point out your weaknesses." said Ace.

"Forget that I asked." Zero gets into his fighting stance. "Here goes!"

Scar takes out a pen and a checkboard. And he is watching Zero. "Hmm… starting off with a basic fighting stance, huh?" Scar thought.

"TAKE THIS!" said Zero.

Zero charges at Ace. He tries to land a hit on Ace, but Ace dodges by side stepping. Zero tripped and falls flat on his face on the sand. He gets back up and attacks Ace. He swings at Ace multiple times, but he keeps dodging Zero's Punches.

"I see he's on the offense. But he's just fighting wildly and not thinking of other ways to hit Ace. Plus, he seems to be poor on defense." Scar thought.

Ace blocks one of Zero's punches. "That's enough!" Then he pushes Zero to the ground. Zero sits up and looks at Ace.

Panting. "Well?" said Zero.

"Um… how do I say this? Well, you said that you already know how to fight a little. But your own performance says otherwise. [Looks at Scar.] What do you think, Scar?"

Scar looks at his checkboard and writes on it. "Hmm… lets see. No defense, check! Weak offense, check! Fighting too wildly, check! No strategy, check! Combat's as slow as a slug, check! Can't fight, oh, definitely check!" [Puts away his pen and checkboard.] "Yep. He needs work. A LOT of work."

"And to add insult to injury. When I blocked your punch, I didn't feel that much impact. Your punching power also needs improvement." said Ace.

Disappointed. "That's just great! Is there anything good to say about me?" Zero asks.

They both are trying to think of a positive thing about Zero's performance.

"Um.."

"Uh…"

"Well, ya…"

"Urr…"

"You… uh…"

"Ah…"

Claire appears and laughs.

"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Seriously? There's nothing good to say about that? How embarrassing!" said Claire.

"CLAIRE!" said Ace and Scar.

"What? I'm just being honest." said Claire.

Annoyed. "What do you want, woman?" Zero asks.

"I just thought I stop by and see how you're doing. And after what I saw? How could anyone not find that funny?" Claire noticed that Zero is getting angry. So she makes fun of him even more. "HA! HA! What's wrong is little Zero getting angry at me? OOOOH! I'm so scared!" Claire is really pushing Zero. "Aww… big babies are so adorable when they're upset. Here, I'll sing you a song to cheer you up." Claire starts singing the mockingbird song.

Singing. "Hush, little baby, don't you cry, Mama's gonna sing you a lullaby, hush, little baby, don't say a word, Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird."

Zero growls at Claire. Then he snaps. "THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!" Zero screams in anger, then he charges at Claire. Claire runs away from Zero, as he chases after her. While being chased, Claire is still laughing and mocking Zero. "GET BACK HERE!"

"NA, NA, NANA, NA! YOU CAN'T CATCH ME!" said Claire.

"WAIT TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!" said Zero.

Zero is chasing Claire all around the training facility. Scar and Ace looks very annoyed as they watch the two Jackals running around the place. Then Radar appears.

To Radar. "Hey, Radar." said Ace.

"Hey, guys." said Radar. Zero and Claire runs by. Radar looks at them, confused. "Whoa! What's going on here?" Radar asks.

"Claire ticked off, Zero. Then this is happened." said Scar.

looking at Claire and Zero. "Oh, well…. should we stop them?" Radar asks.

"Nah. I'm sure they'll tire out eventually." said Ace.

Caption shows, 30 minutes later.

Zero is still chasing after Claire. Scar, Ace, and Radar are playing a game of go fish. As they wait for Zero and Claire to tire out, so they can start Zero's training. Radar have 6 cards in hand, Scar have 2, and Ace have 5.

"Do you have any 4's, Radar?" Ace asks.

Radar gives Ace 2 cards with 4 diamonds on them.

"Ace. Do you have any 2's?" Scar asks.

"Go fish!" said Ace.

Scar takes a card from the pile.

"Scar. Do you have any 5's?" Radar asks. Scar gives Radar no response. "Hey, Scar. Did you not hear me?" Scar gets irritated.

"SCAR!" said Ace.

To Ace. "I HEARD HIM!" Scar gives all his 5's to Radar. And it was all the cards he have. "FINE TAKE'EM!"

"Ooh. Tough luck, Scar." Said Ace.

"According to my calculations, that's about 50 disqualifications in a row." said Radar.

Scar stands up in rage. "AAAAAAH!" He flips the table. "THIS GAME STINKS! WHO'S THE MORON WHO CAME UP WITH UP THIS GARBAGE!?"

"Hey, you shouldn't blame the creator for your losing streak, Scar." said Radar.

"Shut up, Radar!" said Scar.

Claire reappears on-screen and skips by the three men. But there's no sign of Zero. Scar, Ace, and Radar looks at the other direction.

"Well. Looks like he's reached his limit." Said Radar.

"About time!" said Radar.

Zero reappears on-screen, extremely exhausted. "Come…back….here." He collapsed on the ground by Scar, Ace, and Radar.

looking at Zero. "Well now there's a good thing to say. He's got a lot of stamina." said Ace.

"Yep." said Scar.

"Indeed." said Radar.

Claire comes back with 2 bottles of water. "Phew… that was great workout." [Squats down and looks at Zero.] "We should do that more often, don't you think?" Claire asks.

Out of breathe. "I hate you… I hate you so much. Words cannot describe… the amount of hatred that burns inside me for you. UUUgh!" said Zero.

He buries his chin in the sand.

"Well, that's not a very nice thing to say." said Claire. She offers him one of the bottles of water. "You want one?" Zero reaches his hand out to grab the water. But Claire swipes it away.

"SIKE!" said Claire. Zero looks shocked, after Claire took the bottle away. "HA-HA! Fooled ya! Next time, don't throw things at me again." [Claire winks at Zero] "Okay, sunshine?" She turns around and walks away. "Well, buh-bye now!"

Claire laughs as she's walking away. Zero is too tired to get angry, so he just buried his entire face in the sand.

"Honestly, Zero. Why do you keep letting her push your buttons?" Radar asks.

"Yeah, kid, you're basically just asking her to make you look like a fool." said Scar.

Muffling in the sand. "Shut….up!"

* * *

[Training facility, day]

Outside of the lions den. Ace, Scar, and Radar gave, Zero a bottle of water. And he is drinking it really fast.

"Hey, slow down! You'll drown yourself drinking like that!" said Scar.

Stops drinking the water for a second. "Someday, I'll get my revenge on that woman!" Then resumes drinking.

"You know, I think, Claire, didn't act like that for no reason, Zero. I think she noticed another weakness and decided to point it out in her own way." said Radar.

"I agree with, Radar. You seem to can't stand when somebody mocks you. What's up with that?" said Ace.

Zero drunk all his water. "It's none of your concern." He sticks the empty bottle out at the trio. Demanding more water. "More water!"

"You've had enough!" said all three.

Scar sighs. "Thanks to, Claire. Now you need a break. Take 20 minutes, then we'll start your training." said Scar.

Scar, Ace, and Radar leaves Zero alone.

* * *

[Workout warehouse]

Inside the workout warehouse. Stryker and Brawn are working out. Stryker is doing push-ups with one hand, while Brawn is lifting weights. Stryker is counting how many push-ups he's doing.

"85…86…87…88…89…90…91…92…93…94…95…96…97…98…99…100!"

Stryker stopped doing his push-ups, then he goes to the refrigerator to get a battle of water. After taking a swig, he thinks about that talk he had with Zero last week.

Zero's voice. "When I first saw you, That was the person I saw in myself. A man full of pride, courage, bravery, and willing to do anything to achieve strength and his goal. The ultimate mercenary. That is what I want to become."

"Half of my life I've been doing this job. I've never met anyone who sees me as their idol. I mean, my squad respect me as their leader. But…."

Stryker brushes off his thoughts on Zero's words. "Oh, forget it. It's not that important." Stryker walks up to Brawn, who's still lifting weights. "Hey, Brawn."

Brawn stops lifting weights and he answers Stryker. "Yes, boss?"

"I'm going out to look for worthy assignments for us. In the meantime, help the others train Zero. I'll be back soon." said Stryker.

"Okay. Be careful, boss." Brawn wrote.

* * *

[Training Facility, day]

Stryker walks out of the warehouse. He see's Zero resting, then he decided to approach him.

"What? You're tired already?" Stryker asks Zero.

Looks at Stryker. "Boss." said Zero.

Zero tells Stryker what happened off-screen.

"Seriously, Zero, you need to learn how to brush off insults. People will just keep walking all over you, if you keep taking their words to heart." said Stryker.

"I know. I already got an earful from the others on that." said Zero

"I'm going out." said Stryker.

"Where are you going?" Zero asks.

"To go find a mission for all of us." said Stryker.

"How long are you going to be gone?"

"Can't say. It depends on the travel. Take care of the others and HQ until I get back." Stryker walks off.

"Yes, sir!"

Stryker leaves the training facility, and gets in his jeep. "Which town should I visit this time?" Stryker opens the glove compartment then takes out large map. "Hmmm. Tombstoneville didn't have much last time we visit it. Grey city is overused. Hmmm… Silvertown. It's been a while since our last visit, I think I'll go there." Stryker puts the map back in the glove compartment, he starts the engines, then he drives off.

* * *

[Training Facility, day]

Zero's break is over and he goes back to his training. Scar, Ace, and Radar shows him a punching bag.

"What's that supposed to be?" Zero asks.

"You don't know what a punching bag is?" Scar asks.

"No, I don't." said Zero.

"I guess I'll explain. A punching bag is a large heavy bag, that is popular for professional fighters to use for training. It can be stuffed with sand, or any type of dense materials. How to use it correctly is simple. You first insert your hands inside the boxing gloves. Doing so will protect you from damaging your knuckles." said Radar.

"So basically if I keep hitting this thing, it'll increase my punching power?" Zero asks.

"Yeah, pretty much." said Ace.

Ace gives Zero a pair of boxing gloves. "Here, put these on." Zero takes the gloves and puts them on.

"First step of your training is to increase the power of your physical attacks. Starting with your punches." said Radar.

Scar puts on his own boxing gloves. "I'll start showing you some basic moves." Scar goes up to the punching bag. "First is arguably the most simplest move of them all. The jab and cross movement. A straight forward approach to strike the enemy in the face." [Scar punches the bag using jab cross movement. He hits it about 5 times.] "This is useful for an enemy that is in a longer range from you. Next is the uppercut." [Scar hits the back with a left and right uppercut.] "This move is useful, if an enemy is closer to you. One strike on the chin, and it will knock them back. Last but not least, the hook." [Scar punches the bag with a left and right cross hook.] "This attack is useful for a strike that's out of the enemies direct eyesight, a surprise attack."

"Now we want you to try it out yourself. I'll test you to see if you were paying attention to what Scar showed you. When I say the name of the attack, you perform the punch on the bag. Got it?" said Ace.

"Yeah, I gotcha." said Zero.

Zero stands in front of the punching bag and gets in his fighting stance.

"LEFT JAB!"

Zero hits the bag with the left jab.

"RIGHT JAB!"

Zero hits the bag with the right jab.

"CROSS!"

Zero hits the bag with the left and right jab.

"Very good. Now for the hooks. LEFT!"

Zero hits the bag with a left hook

"RIGHT!"

Zero hits the bag with the right hook.

"CROSS!"

Zero hits the bag with a left and right hook.

"Not bad! Now for the uppercuts. LEFT!"

Zero hits the bag with a left uppercut.

"RIGHT!"

Zero hits the bag with a right uppercut.

"CROSS!"

Zero hits the bag with a left and right uppercut.

"Nice job!"

"Good. He was listening." said Scar.

"Now keep hitting the bag. When you're feeling tired, don't force yourself to keep going. Give your body some rest for at lease an hour. After that, go back and continue your training." said Ace.

"Very well. When do I start the second part of the training?" Zero asks.

"You'll find out soon enough." said Radar. [To Ace and Scar.] "Gentlemen? Let's leave Zero alone, for now."

The three men leaves Zero alone with the punching bag.

"Alright, let's do this!" [Zero resumes his training.]

"Well, I'm going off to work out." said Scar.

"I'm going back to headquarters, so I can build more useful inventions." said Radar.

"I've gotta go talk to, Claire." said Ace.

All three of them takes off at different directions.

* * *

[Training Facility, sunset]

Zero is still training with the punching bag. He is doing jabs, uppercuts, and hooks. He is shown to be training really hard as he is sweating bullets. Claire appears, and calls out Zero.

"Zero." said Claire.

Stops and answers Claire. "What?"

"It's late. Time to get back to HQ." said Claire.

"Fine." said Zero.

Zero takes off the gloves, and puts them down on the ground. He and Claire walks to the jeep, and enters it. Ace is driving, Scar is sitting in the passenger seat, Claire, Brawn, and Zero is sitting in the back seats.

To Zero. "You've been working hard." said Ace.

Tired. "Yeah. But it was worth it." said Zero.

Ace starts the engines and drives off.

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ, night]

Back at HQ. The jackal squad are all in the dining room. Claire, Scar, Ace, and Zero are sitting at the table, waiting. While Brawn is in the kitchen, cooking something.

"So what's for dinner tonight?" Zero asks

"Brawn is cooking one of his finest dishes. Chicken spaghetti." said Radar.

"Finest? It's that good?" Zero asks.

"Trust me, Zero. You haven't lived until you've tried his spaghetti." said Claire.

Kitchen bell rings.

"Aw, yeah! Food's ready!" said Scar.

Brawn comes out holding a big pot and places it on the table. He takes out a big spoon and scoops some of the spaghetti on Scar's plate first. Then he does the same for the others.

Scar is the first one to take a bite of the spaghetti. He is shocked of how delicious it is. "Brawn. Another masterpiece."

Radar takes a bite. It is his turn to comment on the food. "The entire dish is pure perfection!"

Ace starts eating. He loves the spaghetti too. "10 out of 10! No question!"

Claire is seen chowing down on the spaghetti. She swallows her food before she starts to say something. "I give it a million stars!"

Brawn smiles and he wrote. "Thanks, guys." Then he starts eating.

"Oh, come on. It can't be that good." Zero tastes the spaghetti. "eh…it's al-" He stops what he was about to say and he looks shocked. He then started chowing down on the food.

To Zero. "You were saying?" said Claire.

Zero finished his food. "I take it back! This is absolutely delicious! I've gotta have more, Brawn, tell me that I can have more!"

"There's more than enough for everyone." Brawn wrote.

"YES!" Zero fixes himself another plate.

"Hey, don't hog the food! You're not the only one who want seconds!" said Scar.

"Whatever!" Zero starts eating again. "Brawn. Where did you learn how to cook this from?"

"I used to be on cooking duties with my father in the army." Brawn wrote.

"Boss, is missing out! This is magnificent!" said Zero.

"I'm sure he won't be that upset." said Ace.

"I wonder what kind of assignment he'll find for us. It was a good vacation, but now I'm ready to get back in action." said Claire.

"I hear ya." said Ace.

Zero cleans his second plate, and he's full.

"Oh… I wish I could eat more of this, but I'm full." said Zero.

To Zero. "I'm impressed. You've ate more than I've expected." said Claire.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Zero gets up from the table.. "Well, I'm going off to bed. See you guys tomorrow." He leaves the dining room.

"Goodnight!" said the squad.

Radar finished his food. "Well. I'm stuffed."

"Already? You only had one plate." said Ace.

"Yeah. Compared to you guys, I wasn't that hungry!" Radar gets up from the table. "I'm going off to bed now. Good night." Radar walks out.

"Later!" said the squad.

"Well, more for us!" said Claire.

"Hey. Try not to stuff yourself, Claire." Brawn wrote.

"Who cares! This stuff's good!" said Claire.

To claire. "You remember what I've told you, right?" Ace asks.

"Yeah, yeah." Claire goes back to eating.

* * *

[Zero's Room]

Zero is taking a shower for a few minutes then he turns off the water. After drying himself off, he gets down on the floor and start doing more push-ups before bed.

"1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10…11…12.. [He's starting to slow down.] .13…14…15…..16…17." [He stops.] "Phew… okay. Getting better. But still not good enough! Be patient, Zero. Good things come to those who wait. At least…. That's what I've heard." He gets in the bed. Before going off to sleep, Zero starts thinking about Stryker. "I wonder how Stryker's doing right now."

* * *

[Silvertown, night]

Meanwhile, Stryker arrives at Silvertown. He parks his jeep in a parking lot of a local motel. He gets out of the car and he looks very tired. Silvertown is a desert city that's just as big as grey city.

"Ugh! That was quite a drive. Good thing I left some extra snacks and gas in the trunk. Otherwise, I would've been lucked out." said Stryker.

* * *

[Motel]

Stryker walks inside the motel, and he goes up to the front desk. An anthropomorphic wolf man is sitting behind the desk.

"Excuse me. How much is it to stay for a night?" Stryker asks

"100 bucks." Stryker takes out his wallet and pays the man. After he paid, the man gives Stryker the key to his motel room. "Enjoy your night, pal." said the man.

"Thanks." said Stryker.

Stryker walks off to find his room. He later finds it, and it was labeled room #101. Stryker unlocks the door, and enters the room. Inside, the room was incredibly filthy. Stryker is horrified to see how disgusting the room is. There is roaches crawling everywhere, food and wrappers on the floor, flies all over the place, Stains an the bed sheets and walls, and the room smells absolutely horrendous. The disgusted Stryker leaves the room, and closed the door behind him. He walks back up to the front to file a complaint.

"Hey, buddy! Your janitors did a sorry job cleaning up!" said the upset Stryker.

"Well, that's not my problem!" said the man.

"Are you the manager!?" Stryker asks.

"Yes, I am!"

"Well, Mr. manager. How do you expect someone to stay in your motel when the place is a dump?"

"I don't know! Maybe you should clean it yourself!"

Angry. "Or, maybe I should take my business somewhere else! But first, I want my money back!" Stryker demands.

"Sorry. In this motel, no refunds."

Stryker takes out his sword, and points it at the man, causing him to scream like a little girl. Stryker looks at him with a death glare.

"Tell me. Is your job more important than your life?" Stryker asks.

Scared. "Uuuuh…. I mean… there's no refunds. B-but I'll make an exception."

* * *

[Silvertown, night]

Stryker angrily walks out of the motel and heads back to his car.

"100 bucks to stay in that junk heap? Pfft…yeah right!"

Stryker's stomach started growling. He decided to stop walking for a second.

"Guess those snacks wasn't enough to last me for the night." Stryker looks around the neighborhood. "I wonder if there's a diner around here." Stryker resumes walking to his jeep. In the parking lot, he steps on a newspaper. "Huh?" Stryker looks down, picks up the paper, and reads the latest news. "What's this? We bring you Silvertown's latest news flash. We are proud to announce that there will be a brand new museum, that will be opening in the next 6 months. A historical museum where customers will see rare historical artifacts that researchers have been searching for years." Stryker smirks and chuckles evilly. "Heh, heh, heh, heh. Interesting. Historical artifacts, huh? Those things must be worth a fortune." Stryker puts away the newspaper. "Well, this saves the trouble of waiting till morning to start looking for a mission. Now I know exactly what we need to do." Stryker gets back in the jeep, and drives off.

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ, morning]

It is 7 a.m. in the morning. Zero is sleeping in his bed. Snoring and muttering in his sleep. A couple minutes later, Claire enters the room holding a blow horn. She walks up to the sleeping Zero. Then…

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK

Zero screams. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Time to wake up, maggot!" said Claire.

Angry. "WHY IN THE WORLD DID YOU WAKE ME UP LIKE THAT!?" Zero asks.

"Ace and the others put me in charge of training you today." said Claire.

"IT'S 2 MINUTES PAST SEVEN IN THE MORNING, YOU SWINE!" said Zero.

"And it's the time I wake up to train. Now let's go, rookie!"

Claire walks out of the room.

"Ugh!" said Zero.

* * *

[Desert, morning]

Outside, Zero followed Claire behind the target practice warehouse. There is an obstacle course that involves climbing, balancing, jumping, etc. It is build somewhat similar to an actual military obstacle course. It has a 10 foot rope wall, 8 jumping hurdles, balancing boards placed over dug up holes in the ground, and there are some truck tires placed in the course.

"Now what am I supposed to do with all of this?" Zero asks.

"For the second step of your training, we're going to be working on improving your movements, speed, and endurance. What you're seeing here, is called, an obstacle course." said Claire.

"Obstacle course?" Zero asks

"Yep. Here's what you'll be doing. Your job is to reach the finish line after going through the obstacles. With the 10 foot long rope wall, you'll have to climb all the way up to the top. If you jump over the wall, then you'll be disqualified. Brawn, introduced you to the pull-up bars, right?"

"Yeah, he showed me how they work."

"Good. When you get up to the bars, do at least 5 pull-ups, then you can continue running. For the tires, you must run through them step by step. For the boards I've planted over the large holes, you'll have to cross through them by balancing. If I were you I'd be careful not to fall off. And lastly, for the hurdles, you have to jump over them. I'm sure you've already figured that out by now."

"Well, this doesn't seem so bad." Zero thought.

Claire takes out a stop-watch. "You have about 8 minutes to finish the course. Should be a good start for a beginner like you." Claire sets the timer. "You ready?"

Zero gets into running position. "More than ready! Let's do this!"

"On your mark…get set….GO!"

Zero takes off running. He first encounters the rope wall, and starts climbing it. As expected his climbing speed is a lot slower than his running speed. After a slight struggle, he climbs up to the top of the wall, jumps down, and continues running. Second, he encounters the 2 pull-up bars. Zero jumps up to one of them and starts doing his pull-ups.

"1….2….3…..4…..5!"

He gets down from that one and he does the same for the other. Zero encounters the tires. He steps over each tire, and he is trying his best not to trip and fall over them. When he got to the last tire, he loses his footing for a bit, but he recovers his balance and continues running.

"Okay, this is harder than I thought! But I won't let it stop me!" Zero runs up to the balancing board. He carefully walks on the board, and trying to keep his balance. "Careful! Careful! Careful!" Zero walks slowly and carefully on the board. Claire is impressed that Zero made it this far in the obstacle course.

"Not bad! Not bad at all!" Claire thought.

After a struggle, Zero managed to cross the board. He takes off running again, and he encounters the hurdles. Due to all the jumping he has done in his childhood and how he performed in the lions den. It's no surprise the he jumps over them very easily.

"Yes! I'm almost there!" said Zero.

Zero is getting closer to the finish line.

"Like I said, nothing can stop m-" Zero almost crossed the finish line, but he fell into a hidden pit trap. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Zero lands flat on his face inside the trap. Claire appears in front of the finish line, and looks down in the hole.

"Yes! It worked!" said Claire.

Zero climbs out of the hole. "What the heck was that!?"

* * *

[Enter Flashback: Desert, evening]

Taking place yesterday. Claire was finished setting up the obstacle course for Zero.

"Phew…no that should do it." Then suddenly, she thought of something. It was something sinister as Claire is smiling evilly. "Hmmm…"

Claire goes off to get a shovel, then she comes back and digs a hole in front of the finish line. After she is finished digging, she gets some weak boards. She light punches one of the boards to test how much force they can take. Her weak jab managed to break the board in half.

"Perfect!"

She grabs a few more boards and she places them over the hole. Next, she covers the boards with some sand so Zero won't notice them. Claire chuckled evilly after she completely covers her trap in the sand.

* * *

[Desert, morning]

Flashback ends and Claire starts laughing.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And it was so worth it! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Yells. "YOU CHEATED!" said Zero.

Stops laughing. "I'll admit I did! Now aside from that, you beat the time…. but barely. And I will commend you on your efforts. Your movements aren't half bad. But still… we will keep doing this obstacle course, until I tell you to stop."

Zero calms down. "Very well."

"Again! Right from the start!" said Claire.

"Right!" said Zero.

* * *

[Training Facility, Afternoon]

In the afternoon. Stryker returns to the training facility. The jackal squad hears the jeep, and they all ran up to the front gate.

"The boss is back!" said Scar.

"How was the travel, boss?" Claire asks.

"Did you find us an assignment?" Radar asks.

Stryker takes out the newspaper. "Read this."

He tosses the paper to his squad so they can look at the latest news. Ace catches the paper and reads it. The others leans over his shoulder to look as well.

"Silvertown is building a new museum?" Ace asks.

"Yes. That will be our next mission." said Stryker.

"It doesn't open till the next 6 months. What will we do till then?" said Ace.

"We'll be preparing ourselves for it. This mission will require all of us to be apart of." said Stryker.

"A mission that involves the entire gang? We haven't had that in a while." said Scar.

"Indeed. Technology keeps improving every year. Since it's a brand new museum, I have no doubts that the security will be tight. Teamwork is an important factor if we want to pull this off." said Stryker. [Looks at Zero.] "Zero."

"Yes, boss?"

"Come with me. I'm going to start teaching you how to fight with a sword. Now as for the rest of you, keep up with your own training."

"Yes, sir!" said the squad.

To Zero. "We'll get back to where we left later, Zero. Okay?" said Claire.

"That's fine."

Zero follows Stryker to the combat warehouse. While the rest of the squad goes off to train somewhere else.

* * *

[Combat Warehouse, afternoon]

Zero and Stryker enters the warehouse.

"Alright, Zero. First we're going to start with the basics." Stryker goes in to the sword equipment, then he pulls out a crimson sword. "Ah, this should do." Stryker gives Zero the sword. "Here."

Zero takes the sword. Stryker takes out a sword of his, which is a long white sword.

"First I'm gonna show you a position for a basic attack. Look at me." [Stryker holds his sword over his shoulder. And he places his left foot in front and his places his right foot at the back.] "You hold your sword over the shoulder. Then as for your legs, let your left foot be at the front, and put your right foot in the back. Now, you try."

Zero follows Stryker's direction. He got the legs right and he holds his sword on his shoulder. "Like this?"

"Yeah, that's good enough. Now face your left shoulder towards me."

Zero does what Stryker tells him.

"For this next part, I want you to watch me as I demonstrate. Next, you bring your sword forward facing in front of your opponent." Stryker brings his sword forward. "In this stance, you are completely in a defensive position, that will protect you from the enemy's counterattack." [Stryker takes a step forward with his right leg.] "For a straight attack, you move your right leg forward and then you lower your sword at the enemy's shoulder." [Stryker places his sword on Zero's right shoulder.] "You try. Move your sword forward and your right leg." [Zero moves his right leg and sword forward.] "Alright, now strike my shoulder." [Zero lowers his sword to hit Stryker's shoulder. Stryker blocks the attack with this sword.] "That was okay. Now, lets start over. Get in position."

Zero gets back into his fighting stance. He swings his sword again and Stryker blocks it. This time, Zero messes up as his strike misses Stryker's shoulder.

"You missed!" said Stryker.

"Darn it!" said Zero.

"It's alright. Practice makes perfect. Stay right here. I'll be back with something." [Stryker walks into another room, while Zero is standing still. Stryker comes back with a training dummy. He sets up the dummy in front of Zero.] "I want you to keep practicing on this dummy. Remember, aim for the shoulder." [Stryker stands in the middle of Zero and the dummy, but his outside his distance.] "Strike!"

"HAH!" Zero misses the dummy's arm.

"Out of range! Again!"

"HAH!" Zero's arms was out of posture. Which causes him to hit the dummy on it's head.

"Incorrect posture! Do it like how I've showed you! Start over, get in position!"

Zero gets back into his fighting stance.

"Attack!"

Zero hit's the dummy again. He did better than his two attempts as he hits the dummy's shoulder. But his right leg stick out too far.

"You stretched out too far! Start over!"

"Aw, come on!" Zero thought.

Caption shows, 3 hours later. The dummy had a lot of scratch marks all over it. Show that Zero made a lot of mistakes.

"Alright, take one hour. Meet me back here when your break is over!" said Stryker.

Tired. "Yes… sir." said Zero.

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ]

The rest of the jackal squad are in the dinning room. They're currently taking a break from training as well.

Ace is relaxed. "Ah, that was a good workout."

"Uh-huh." said Claire.

Claire takes a sip of her water bottle.

"What are you guys going to do after the day you retire from all of this?" Scar asks.

"Why are you thinking about retirement now?" Ace asks.

"Just thought I ask. Besides, we're not going to stay thieves forever, you know. We'll finally create our own empire, and we'll be filthy stinking rich." said Scar.

"When I retire, I'm going to build my own weapon business, and I think I'll live in a mansion on an island." said Claire.

Brawn wrote to Claire. "Why an island?"

"Islands are peaceful, and I've always wanted to live by the oceans."

"So you're not worried about possible dangerous animals living there?" Scar asks.

"Eh, not really. What about you guys?" Claire asks.

"When I retire, I'm going to live in a decent city, get married, have a family, and I'll become even more successful by creating new technology. I'll live my life in luxury forever." said Radar.

"Same here with me. Except for the technology part." Said Ace.

"What other careers are you going to do, Ace?" Radar asks.

"Not sure. But I'll think of something."

"When I retire, I'm going to build my own club. Marriage and having children is overrated. I'm going to do me, and nobody is going control me nor keep me from achieving my new goal." said Scar.

Claire looks at Brawn. "What are you going to do when you retire, Brawn?" Claire asks

"Hmm… I haven't decided what I'm going to do, yet." Brawn wrote.

Stryker comes in.

"Hey, everyone." said Stryker.

"Hey, boss. How's it going with, Zero?" Radar asks

"He hasn't gotten the basics down. But he'll pull through. What are you guys talking about?" Said Stryker.

"We're just sharing our retirement plans with each other." said Claire.

"That's nice." said Stryker.

"Are you going to retire when all your dreams come true, boss?" Ace asks.

"Nah. I'll still be in business till the day I die."

"Where's, Zero, by the way? Is he still training?" Claire asks.

"I told him to go on an hour break. He went to his room, but I've no idea what he's doing there."

* * *

[Zero's Room]

Meanwhile. Zero is in his room, doing push-ups.

"….19!" [Then he stops.] "Okay…. getting better."

Zero gets on his bed, and he is laying down looking at the ceiling. As he is laying down, he's thinking about something.

"This training stuff is no walk in the park. But if I want to get stronger, then struggle is 100% necessary." [Zero recites what Stryker said "Only the strong survives."] "Is that true?" [He then raises his right hand up to his face, and looks at it.]

"I mean….I was…. *Scoffs* get ahold of yourself! You are strong and you're going to keep getting stronger as the training and missions go by! Don't you ever think that you're weak ever again."

* * *

[Montage]

Six months of training montage.

[First Month.]

Zero returns to training with Stryker on the basics of swordplay. He's still learning how to get that part down. Then he goes back to train with Brawn, in the workout warehouse. He is doing sit-ups instead of push-ups. Then at sunset, he was back at the punching bag. Zero is punching the bag, while Ace and Scar are giving him orders. At night, Zero is doing sit-ups in his room, before he goes to bed. The next day, Zero is back at the obstacle course and he crosses the finish line. Claire stops the timer and she gives him a thumbs up. Showing that Zero is doing a good job. Later, this is a new training event. Radar had Zero read books about strategies of fighting. Zero at first showed a lack of interest in reading and studying, but he got over it eventually. Then he went back to sword training with Stryker. Zero is starting to get the hang of the basics, which makes Stryker proudly smile at him.

[Second Month.]

Zero is improving on his push-ups and sit-ups with Brawn. As he's able to do more of them and his pacing is faster than it was before. Then he goes back to the punching bag. Zero is now working on his kicks. Ace is ordering him to perform a type of kick. From left, right, cross, upper, lower, and a roundhouse kick. When Zero is ordered to da a roundhouse kick, he trips and falls on his butt. Ace and Scar chuckles nervously after Zero fell. The next day, Zero goes back to train with Stryker. Stryker is teaching Zero how to defend this time. He's teaching Zero the ox, fool's, flow, roof, high, tail, and the long-point guard. Then Zero goes back to train with Claire. She have him do jump roping rather than do another obstacle course. Zero was doing fine, until he trips on the rope and falls face-flat on the ground. Claire laughs at Zero. Then he gets his revenge by grabbing her ankles and yanks them. Making her fall on her back. Zero smirks at Claire while she gives him an angry look. Later, Zero is back to studying with Radar. Then he was outside at night, swinging his sword back and forth repeatedly.

[Third Month.]

Zero is back doing combat training with Ace. This time, Ace had to put more effort compared to how he first tested Zero. He was dodging and blocking Zero's attacks. Zero's movements has improved due to training with Claire. Afterwards, Zero started sparring with Stryker. Zero was on the offense while Stryker was on the defense. Stryker counters one of Zero's attacks and he knocks the sword away from Zero. The counter also made Zero fall on his back. Stryker pulls him up off the floor, and they continue their training. At sunset, Zero is jogging around the training facility. Claire is counting how many laps he has done. At night, Zero, again, is doing push-ups before he goes to bed. The next day, Scar is training Zero. Scar is wearing punching hand pads. Zero is hitting the pads with left and right jabs, hooks, uppercuts, and even elbows. Scar is also teaching Zero how to dodge enemy punches and counter attacks them. Then he goes back to training with Brawn. Brawn had Zero to start lifting weights.

[Fourth Month.]

Zero is back at the punching bag. He has gotten better at doing roundhouse kicks and his striking power has improved. Later. Stryker had Brawn throw water balloons at Zero. Zero's job is to hit every incoming water balloon with his sword. He is wearing some water googles, so the water can't get in his eyes. He hits some of the balloons, but most of them got past his defense and hits him in the face multiple times. Back with Claire, She had Zero go through another obstacle course. This course is longer than the first one, with longer rope climbing, more hurdles, longer balance boards, and more pull-up bars. At night, Zero is practicing on twirling his sword. The next morning, Zero is back sparring with Ace. Ace is fighting back a little this time, as he throws a punch at Zero, only for him to dodge it. As Zero is throws a punch at Ace, he dodges and trips Zero, making him fall on the ground. Ace looks down at him smiling, and he pulls him back up.

[Fifth Month.]

Zero is lifting weights with Brawn again. But he is lifting heavier weights. Showing that Zero is physically stronger than he was before. Afterwards, Zero is studying with Radar. Then he goes back to the training dummy. Zero lunges at the dummy and he slices the dummy apart, piece by piece. Stryker is very impressed on how strong Zero has gotten. At sunset, Zero was outside jogging with Claire around the facility. The next morning, Zero is back at the punching bag, but this time, Scar, Ace, and Radar, are not ordering him to perform a type of punch and kick. They're letting him do his own combos with the fighting moves they've taught him.

[Last month]

On the last month of his training, Zero and Stryker are sword sparring with each other. Zero is holding his own against Stryker, even though Stryker is holding back. Zero is dodging, blocking, and counterattacking Stryker's attacks. Later. Brawn and Stryker are back at throwing water balloons at Zero. Zero is hitting every last balloon Brawn threw at him. After Zero hit the last balloon, Stryker came to his decision.

Looks at Stryker. "Well, boss?" Brawn wrote.

Smirks. "He's ready." said Stryker.

End of Chapter 5.


	6. Chapter 6: The heist

[Silvertown Museum, day]

It is a sunny day in silvertown and it's the grand opening to the Silvertown museum. The museum is a 35,000 square foot building that includes approximately 16,000 square feet room space. It also carries two floors. Inside the museum, there is a lot of anthropomorphic customers of different species that lives in the desert. They're all walking around the place and looking at the historical items. The scene shifts off to Claire taking pictures of the artifacts. One of the employees approaches Claire. The employee is a female anthropomorphic coyote, who is wearing a blue shirt with Silvertown Museum's logo on it, and she is wearing light brown pants.

"Hello, can I help you with something, ma'am?" The employee asks.

Claire stops taking pictures and looks at the employee. "Huh? Oh, no thanks, I'm good." said Claire.

"Okay. If you need anything, I'll be happy to assist you."

As the employee starts walking off, Claire changes her mind."Wait!"

She stops and looks back at Claire. "Yes?"

"Do you know where these items originated from? I have a school project for my history class and I've got to complete it." Claire lies.

"Well, I can give you some info on some of the artifacts."

"Thank you. Can you tell me what this item is?" Claire points at an item that looks like an Egyption Jackal.

"That is a statue of an Egyption god, named Anubis."

While the employee kept her eyes off of Claire, she takes out her communicator watch and turns on the recorder. Then she quickly takes out a pencil and notepad, to make it look like she's taking notes to cover up her lie.

"Anubis was a mysterious and a feared Egyption god. His reputation was due to many people believing that he had power over all of the Egyptians. And he was very respected by his followers."

"Interesting. Can we move on to the other artifacts?"

"Sure."

The employee tours Claire around the museum. While she's talking, Claire turns on her earpiece, and she contacts Radar.

Whispering. "Hey, Radar. You getting all of this?"

* * *

[Silvertown, day]

Radar is outside, sitting in the front seat of a white delivery truck. While Stryker and Brawn is sitting in the back, sharpening their weapons in case if they need to use them for this heist.

"Loud and clear, Claire. Keep doing what you're doing. The more we know the importance of these artifacts, the higher the bounty we'll get from selling them off." said Radar.

* * *

[Silvertown Museum]

"Understood." said Claire.

The employee looks at Claire. "Is everything alright?" She asks.

"Oh, it's nothing." Claire swatted her ear. "A fly landed on my ear, so I had to swat it away."

"Pesky little things. As I was saying…"

Switching back to the Truck.

"All the weapons are ready to go." said Stryker.

Stryker contacts Ace and Scar via earpiece.

"Ace, Scar, what does the security look like?"

Ace and Scar are blending in as normal customers, inside the museum. They were looking at how many security cameras inside the building, without being suspicious. There are a lot of surveillance cameras planted on the walls.

Whispering. "Just like what you've predicted. There are a lot of cameras here." Said Scar.

Whispering. "It'll be extremely difficult to sneak around without being spotted." said Ace.

Over Radio. "Good. Now all we need is to know how many night guards will be working tonight." [Stryker then contacts Zero.] "Zero. Have you made it to the night guard meeting?"

* * *

[Inside the Air Vent]

Zero is crawling inside the air vent.

"Not yet, but I'm almost there." [As Zero is crawling through, he is disgusted about the odor in the vent.] "BLECCHH! This place reeks!" [Zero eventually finds the vent that shows the meeting room.] "Boss. I've found them."

Over Radio. "How many of them are there?" Stryker asks.

"Five." said Zero.

Over Radio. "Not too bad. Alright, you remember what I've told you?"

"Yes. I'm recording the conversation now."

Zero takes out a recording device and turns it on. The scene cuts to the meeting, as the main boss is giving the night guards instructions as Zero is recording them.

"Alright, gentlemen. We all know that this is the grand opening of Silvertown's very first museum. This museum is very special, so your job is to protect it from midnight till morning. If all five of you work together and be very watchful for robbers, then every item here will be under good protective hands." said the boss.

"Heh. We'll see about that." Zero thought.

"Now I'm going to go over the rules of what to do if you see and encounter a thief. First, if you spot one, do not approach them directly. You hide and call the authorities or call another guard for back-up first. Contact each other with your walkie talkies that will be placed on your uniforms. Calling the police is necessary, because if there are more than 5 thieves, the police has to get involved for that situation. Second thing, is to use your stun gun, these babies are pack with 50,000 volts. Once it hits it's target, they'll be down on the ground. Lastly, is to be aware of your surroundings. The cameras maybe secured all over the place, but don't underestimate the suspect. You never know if he or she is a clever one. Keep your eyes and ears peeled at all cost. Are we clear?" said the boss.

"Yes, sir!" said the guards.

"Good. Now that is all for today. Go home and rest up until midnight. This place is protected under your hands, so no messing up. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Now, you're dismissed."

The night guards and their boss walks out of the room. Zero turns off the recorder then he turns around and heads back to the truck.

"Recording operation's completed." said Zero.

Over Radio. "Good work, Zero. Now, come back to the truck." said Zero.

"Roger."

Zero is crawling back to where he came in the vent.

* * *

[Outside.]

Zero gets out of the vents, and he meets everyone back to the truck.

"Everyone is here, boss!" said Ace.

"Good. Radar, drive us to the hideout." said Stryker.

"Roger." said Radar.

Radar starts the truck and drives off.

* * *

[Hideout]

After driving through town, the jackal squad arrives to their safehouse. It is one story house with only one garage door. The gang exits the truck and enters the house.

looking around the safehouse. "Quite a nice place you got here." said Zero.

"Thanks. We've built it years ago. So we can have a place to discuss our plans and tactics." said Radar.

"Nice." said Zero.

They all gathered in the living room. There's a large table and one big computer placed in front of it. Stryker and the rest stands around the table, while Radar gets on the main computer. He then puts in a flash-drive that pulls up a virtual diagram of Silvertown's museum.

"Alright, team, this is a very important heist and we cannot afford to fail. According to the information we've gathered, there are 50 artifacts inside the museum." [Radar pulls up all of the historical items Claire took pictures of.] "Every last one of them are worth a hefty bounty." [Radar then pulls the diagram back up, and he marks the number of surveillance cameras inside the building.] "These guys are serious about their security. There are 15 surveillance cameras planted from top to bottom. And the night guards are ordered to call the cops, if they spot us. Stealth is extremely important in this mission, we cannot afford to get caught."

"Well let's say if one of us gets spotted, why not just take out the guard before he reaches his weapon or phone?" Zero asks.

"Too noisy. And unless all of us have the ability to go light speed, there's no way we can be fast enough to knock out the guard before he can react. Now here's the plan." Radar pulls up some badly drawn cartoony doodles of the jackal squad. "Every one of us has their own roles for this mission."

Claire is disgusted at the drawing of herself. "Hey! That doesn't look anything like me!"

"We're bounty hunters not professional artists, now shut up and pay attention." said Stryker. As Stryker explains the plan. The computer diagram follows along with his explanation. "As I was saying, each one of us have our own roles. Ace. You stay put in the truck. In case we need to get out there fast, we'll already have somebody on the truck to drive us away. Brawn, Radar, your job is to take control of the security cameras. You two must sneak your way into the roof ventilation. Inside, you must find a way into the security room. Once you've made it inside, Radar, you must hack into the security system and gain control over the cameras. That way, you can watch over all of us and tell us where the guards are located. Brawn, your job is to watch Radar's back while he's on the computer."

"Wouldn't, Brawn, be too big to fit in an air vent?" Claire asks.

"He'll be fine." said Zero.

"After, Radar, takes control over the cameras, that's where we can enter. Scar and I will handle the first floor. Claire, Zero, you two take the top floor. The first floor is likely to have three guards, while the second has two. The next thing we've got to do is take out the guards without being seen. We have no reason to kill them, so just knock them out. After that, we hide the unconscious guard into a place where another guard won't find him. Last thing, which is the obvious, is go nuts. Take every last one of the artifacts and leave nothing behind. Ace. I'll give you the command to drive all the way to the back of the museum. Radar. When all of the guards have been taken out, destroy the surveillance footages and shut off the cameras. That way, the cops won't have any evidence to know who the robbers are. After all of us returns to the truck, we drive off, and get out of town immediately. Understood?" said Stryker.

"Understood!" said the squad.

"We leave at 12:30. As of now, relax and be prepared for tonight. We only got one shot at this people, so don't fail." said Stryker.

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

[Silvertown Museum, night]

Caption shows, 12:25 a.m. The museum is closed and the night guards are at their positions. Stryker's claim was correct, There are three night guards patrolling the first floor, and the last two is patrolling the second floor. The second floor night guards engage in a conversation.

"Found anything suspicious?" said Guard #1

"Nope. You?" said Guard #2

"No. So far it's pretty quiet and peaceful here at night."

"Well, duh! It's the night shift!"

"Hey, I was just saying."

"Well, next time, say something that doesn't sound stupid!"

"Fine." They both walk away from each other and continue doing their jobs. "Sheesh, what a jerk!" Suddenly, the night guard #1's stomach started rumbling.] Oh no! [He holds his stomach in pain. "I should've never eaten my leftover burritos before coming to work! Argh!" The guard runs to the men's restroom.

* * *

[Silvertown, night]

Outside. The jackal squad arrives at the museum. Ace parks in a nearby ally instead of parking in front of the museum, to avoid being suspicious. Brawn and Radar gets out of the truck.

"Be careful, you two." said Claire.

"Roger!" said Radar and Brawn wrote.

They both jumped up in the air, and are leaping from rooftop to rooftop. They both made it to the roof of the museum.

"Would you be so kind, Brawn?" Radar asks. Brawn rips off the vent and they both enter inside. As they are crawling, Radar is disgusted by the smell. "Good, golly almighty! I expected that inside the vent would be smelly, but this far surpasses my expectations."

"Meh, I've smelled worse." Brawn wrote.

The two jackals found the vent to the security room. The security room has 15 camera monitors. And a large computer keyboard.

"Jackpot!" Radar takes out a device and uses it to unscrew the bolts off the vent. After he unscrewed them, they both enters the room. Radar walks up to the monitors. "Hmph. So they set these cameras on automatic. Time to switch them on manual control." Radar begins hacking into to system databases. It took some time, but he managed to switch the system on manual control. He now has full control of every surveillance camera in the museum. "Hacking complete." Radar contacts Stryker."Security is now in our possession. Everyone can enter the building now."

"Understood. Alright, people, let's move in." said Stryker.

Everyone but Ace, gets out of the truck, and each of them carried their own large brown bag.

Over Radio. "What?" said Radar.

"What's wrong?" Stryker asks.

Over Radio. "Zero said there are 5 guards, right? Well, there seems to be only 4 here." said Radar.

"4? Are you sure?" Stryker asks.

Over Radio. "Positive." said Radar.

"Guess one of them didn't show up. Makes our job easier." said Scar.

The gang approaches the front door. And it was locked.

"Radar. We're at the front door. Are there any guards nearby?" Stryker asks.

Over Radio. "No. It's all clear, but hurry."

"Got it." [Stryker takes out his lock-pick kit.] "I'm unlocking the door, watch out for any witnesses." [As Stryker is picking the lock, the others keeps there eyes open for anyone nearby. Stryker gets the door unlocked.] "We're in! Come on!" [They all quickly but quietly, enters the museum. Stryker quietly shuts the door, then he whispers to the squad.] "You all know your roles, so lets do this!"

Zero and Claire head to second floor.

Contacts Radar. "Radar. Where are the guards?" Stryker asks.

Over Radio. "There's one located in the fossil area, the second one is located in the pre-historical area, and the last one is located in the art gallery."

"Thanks." Stryker contacts Ace. "Hey, Ace, everything alright out there?"

Over Radio. "It's boringly quiet, but everything's good." said Ace.

"Good. I'll contact you when we're done. Scar, you handle the guard in the fossil area, I'll deal with the one in the art gallery. Whoever takes out their first target the fastest, gets to take out the last one." said Stryker.

"Got it." said Scar.

Stryker and Scar splits up.

* * *

[Top Floor]

Meanwhile, Claire and Zero are on the top floor and they see one of the guards patrolling. They both are behind cover, staying out of the guards sight. The guard is checking his surroundings, to the point where he'll be difficult to sneak behind and knock him out.

Whispering. "Here's the plan. One of us has to distract this guy, then the other has to take him out while he's distracted." said Zero.

Whispering. "Okay. So who's doing the distracting here?" Claire asks.

"Since you're faster than me at this point, you take him out."

"Okay. Just don't get caught."

Zero gets out of cover, crouches behind one of the support beams to the building, then he takes out a quarter.

"Hope this works…" said Zero.

Zero tosses the quarter 11 meters away. The sound of the quarter alerts the guard.

"Huh? What was that?" He walks to the quarter's location. He's keeping his eyes forward and not checking his surroundings. He spots the quarter and he bends down to pick it up. "Hmm… where'd this come fr-" Claire chops the guard in his neck, knocking him out.

"Guard down!" said Claire.

Over Radio. "Good job, you two!" said Radar.

"Thanks, Radar." said Claire. [Contacts Stryker.] "Hey, boss. The guard has been dealt with. Do you want us to start stealing the goods?"

Over Radio. "Go ahead." said Stryker.

"We can start stealing now." said Claire.

Claire and Zero begin stealing the artifacts.

"Heh! This is just too easy!" said Zero.

* * *

[First Floor]

Scar takes out the security guard in the fossil area. He catches the guard's fall by grabbing the back of his shirt collar with his left hand. And he catches the flashlight with his right hand to prevent a loud thud. He then carries the guard, and gently placed him inside a nearby container.

"Well, that takes care of you." Scar leaves the fossil area, then heads to the pre-historical area. "Boss. I'm done with the guard in the fossil area, I'm heading to the-" [As he made it to the pre-historical area, Scar is surprised to see Stryker is already there. And has taken out the guard. Stryker looks at Scar with a smirk.]

"Hey, how's it going?" Stryker asks.

Disappointed. "Never mind." said Scar.

"You were too slow." [Stryker contacts Radar.] "Radar. All the guards have been taken out. Destroy the footage, then you two get down here and help us gather this stuff up."

* * *

[Security Room.]

"Roger that. Brawn. You go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute." said Radar.

"You don't need me to destroy this thing?" Brawn wrote.

"No, I got it." said Radar.

"Okay." Brawn wrote.

Brawn exits the room to help the other steal the artifacts. Radar proceeds to delete the recent footages and he shuts off the cameras.

"Now, that takes care of that!" Radar leaves the room. The jackal squads plan seems to be going well. But….

The last guard finally finished his business in the bathroom stall.

"Phew… Glad that's over." The guard washes his hands. "Now, I can get back to work." The guard opens the door and he hears Zero and Claire talking.

"Look at all this stuff!" said Claire.

"Huh? What the heck is that?" Without being seen, the guard creeks behind a wall, and he sees Zero and Claire stealing all the artifacts. The guard gasps. "Thieves! Where are the others? Never mind that…. I've got to call the police!" The guard quietly goes back in the bathroom and calls the police.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

The scene cuts to Zero and Claire, who is finished putting all of the items in their bags.

"That's all of them. Let's get back to the boss." said Zero.

"Hey." said Claire.

"What?"

"Even though this mission was a cakewalk, you did a good job for your first time."

"Um….thanks."

"You're welcome. You know…. I wonder what happened to the fifth night guard."

As Zero was about to reply, he sees the last night guard, 13 meters behind Claire. He has his stun gun pointing at her.

Zero shouts. "LOOK OUT!"

He runs to Claire and pushes her out of the way of being hit by the stun gun. The guard hits Zero instead of Claire, and he is screaming in pain.

"YOU'RE BOTH UNDER ARREST!" said Guard #1

"ZERO!" Claire runs towards the guard and kicks him in the face, knocking him out. The taser stops shocking, Zero, and he falls down on the floor. Claire runs back to Zero. "Zero! Zero, are you okay!?" Zero is out cold. "OH NO!" Claire contacts Stryker and the others in panic. "BOSS! EVERYONE, I NEED YOU UP HERE!"

"CLAIRE, WHAT'S WRONG!?" Stryker asks.

"ZERO IS OUT COLD!" said Claire.

"OUT COLD!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HE'S OUT COLD!?"

"The fifth security guard, he was here!" The squad looks very surprised.

"WHAT!?" [Looks at Radar.] "I THOUGHT YOU SAID, THERE WAS 4!" said Stryker.

"THE CAMERAS SHOWED THAT THERE WAS!" said Radar.

"Upstairs! Let's go!" said Stryker.

When the rest of the squad got upstairs, they see Claire holding the unconscious Zero.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" Scar asks

"We just got finished stealing all of the items. When were about to head downstairs, this guy came out of nowhere! He tried to paralyze me, but Zero pushed me out of the way!" said Claire.

Brawn, Radar, and Scar looks at the guard.

"Where did he come from?" Radar asks.

"How did you not see him in the cameras?" Scar asks.

"I don't know! I looked everywhere!"

"Was he in an area where there was no camera?" Scar asks.

"Wait, could it be the restroom?" Radar asks

"Restroom?" said Stryker.

"Yes. That's it! There was a camera planted outside the restroom door, but there wasn't one inside. He must've been in the restroom the whole time!" said Radar.

"And you shut off the cameras before he was finished! Darn it!" said Claire.

"We've got to get out of here! Forget the artifacts, let's go!" said Stryker.

Brawn picks up Zero, and they all ran downstairs. Ace contacts Stryker.

Over Radio. "Boss, what happened!? The cops just arrived at the front!" said Ace.

Stryker stops the squad. "TOO LATE! BRAWN! THERE'S A MUMMY'S TOMB IN THE FOSSIL AREA! PUT ZERO DOWN AND BRING IT HERE TO BLOCK THE DOOR!"

Brawn does what Stryker says and puts Zero down on the floor up against the wall. He ran to the fossil area to go get the mummy's tomb.

Speaking over a microphone. "ATTENTION, ROBBERS! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR!" said the police.

"BRAWN, HURRY!" said Claire.

Brawn comes back, carrying the mummy's tomb, and he sits it down in front of the door. Then he goes back to Zero and carries him again.

"The door won't hold for long! Everyone, back upstairs!" said Stryker.

Outside. The police decided to run up to the door. They tried to enter, but the tomb is blocking the door. So they're trying to break the door. The jackal squad are back upstairs in the artifact area.

"Brawn! Pick up one of these steel holders and make a hole in the ceiling. So we can jump up to the roof." said Stryker.

Brawn puts Zero down and picks up one of the steel containers that was holding one of the artifacts. With enough force, Brawn throws it up towards the ceiling, and it made a big hole in the ceiling to the roof. The jackal squad jumps up and they're now on the roof. Brawn is the last one out, due to having to go back and get Zero. They all started leaping from rooftop to rooftop to escape the police.

Contacts Ace. "Ace, do you read me? The mission's been compromised. We're escaping through the rooftops. Get away from the alley and go to a safe distance from the cops!" said Stryker.

"Got it!" Ace starts the engines, steps on the gas, and drives away. Ace sees more police cars and a helicopter, heading towards Stryker and the rest of the jackal squad. "BOSS! THERE ARE MORE CARS COMING, AND THEY'VE SENT IN THE COPTERS!"

"NO!" said Stryker.

The helicopter spotlight shines on the jackal squad. It spots them leaping through the rooftops.

"Visual contact on the suspects. They're jumping on the building rooftops." said the pilot.

The police gets back in their cars, and drives off to catch the jackal squad.

"Brawn, give Zero to me!" Brawn tosses Zero to Stryker. "While you're at it, do something about that helicopter!" Brawn bolts away from the team. The pilot sees Brawn running away from the group.

"One of the suspects is running away. What's he doing?"

Brawn picks up a building air condition unit, and throws it at the helicopter. The pilot screams as the machine is coming straight at him. Brawn destroys the helicopter and it crashed landed somewhere else. Brawn gets back to the squad, and the cops are now shooting at them.

"Crud! We can't escape like this! Where the heck are you, Ace!?" Scar asks.

Over Radio. "I'm sending you my location now!" Radar's phone started buzzing, and he takes it out.

"Radar! Where's Ace!?" Stryker asks.

"Follow me!" said Radar.

The squad follows Radar to find Ace. They moved to a different route to try to get the cops off their trail.

"It won't be long till they send out another helicopter! We've got to hurry!" said Claire.

The squad picks up the pace. They've managed to get away from the police cars and they found Ace and the Truck, parked in the back of a closed grocery store. They run towards the truck, and Ace opens the back door. Letting them in.

"HURRY, HURRY, HURRY!" They all get in. "STEP ON IT, ACE!" Ace drives away from the store and gets back on the road. The jackal squad escaped the police.

Another helicopter arrives, but it was too late to find a visual on the jackal squad. It searches the rooftops, but found nothing. The scene cuts to the police cars. The sheriff is looking around the area, with some officers behind him.

Over radio. "Command. I have no visuals on the suspects, I repeat, I have no visuals on the suspects."

"They got away, sir." said Officer #1.

Angry. "Darn it! How did they manage to escape?" The sheriff asks

"I guess they aren't just your ordinary thieves." said Officer #2.

* * *

[Desert, night]

At 3:30 a.m. the jackal squad leaves Silvertown, and are not back in the desert. Inside the truck shows a very disappointed jackal squad. Everyone is upset about the mission, especially Radar.

"I can't believe the operation turned out to be a bust." said Scar.

"Well, we're all still here, and that's what matters now." said Stryker.

looks at Radar. "Hey, Radar, are you okay?" Claire asks.

Radar doesn't answer Claire.

"It's not your fault, Radar." said Scar.

Depressed. "How? If I had just waited a little longer…. If I had just stayed on the cameras. I would've saw that guy and warned you two. Both of you would've been prepared to take him out before he calls the cops. The mission became a disaster because of me." said Radar.

"Enough, Radar! Blaming yourself isn't going to make this any better. Especially, if you're blaming yourself for the wrong reason. No one is to blame for what happened. All we can do now is put this all behind us and move on." said Stryker.

Zero wakes up. "Ugh… Uh…..huh?"

"Zero." Claire goes up to Zero to check if he's okay. He shakes his head then he sees Claire.

"Claire?"

"Good to see you're awake now, kid." said Scar.

"What happened to the guard?" Zero looks around and realized that he's back in the truck. "We're all back in truck, but where are the artifacts?" Everyone remains silent. Zero gets why they didn't answer his question. "Blast!"

"We had to carry you while the cops was after us." said Claire.

"If we took the artifacts with us, they likely would've slowed us down. So we had no choice but to leave it all behind." said Stryker.

"So, what do we do now?" Zero asks.

"We have to move on and start stealing in other cities. We're now wanted criminals in Silvertown, we can no longer go back there." said Stryker.

Ace is driving all the way back to HQ.

* * *

[Silvertown, day]

3 days later, it is a sunny day in Silvertown. There are lots of civilians walking, chatting with each other, and they are moving on with their lives. However, there are now wanted posters of the jackal squad's, excluding Ace, faces on them. And the reward money for their capture is $10,000.

* * *

[Silvertown Police Department]

The sheriff walking in the computer investigation room, in Silvertown's Police Department. He goes up and talks to the computer forensics expert, who is looking at the helicopter footage of the jackal squad, before brawn destroyed the helicopter.

"So what do we got here?" the sheriff asks.

"It took some time, but I've finally found some identification on our suspects." said the expert. The computer pulls up a picture of Stryker. "Here's one of them. Stryker the jackal. A former soldier of a terrorist organization, called Men At Arms And Glory. According to his status on his files, he is presumed dead by execution, but somehow he managed to survive. How? I have no idea." said the expert.

"A terrorist who becomes a thief, huh? What about the others?" The computer brings up a picture of Brawn.

"This one's name is, Brawn the jackal. He was in and out of an orphanage as a child until someone finally decided to keep him. When he got older, he was a former soldier of a military called H.A.M, which stands for honor among men. He was a test subject for an experiment called the alpha project. It was designed to turn some of their best soldiers into the ultimate weapon. It increases the soldier's speed, power, strength, and durability by 100x's. However, there was a huge accident that happened in his body. The side effects, made him have a heavy stroke, and it caused him to lose his ability to speak." said the expert.

"So the big strongman was a soldier who now becomes a criminal? Disgraceful!" said the sheriff.

"This is strange though." The computer tried to analyze Scar and Radar, but the information on them cannot be found. "No matter how hard I try to search, I can't find any information on these two."

"Why's that?"

"It seems like they weren't born with names and they don't have birth certificates."

"Strange, indeed."

"I've found some info on the last two." [The computer analyzes Zero and Claire.] "The female's name is Claire the jackal, and the one who was knocked out is Zero the jackal. They're both the youngest of the group, but all it can pull up is there names and birth certificates. I have nothing on their backgrounds."

"I see. Have you tracked down their whereabouts? I had my men look all over the city, but I can't find them anywhere." said the sheriff.

"No, sir. I think it's sad to say that they might've left town." said the expert.

"Cowards."

"Come to think of it, sir. Do you think that these guys might be working for the most wanted man in town?"

The sheriff gets disgusted by what the expert asked him.

"That's not possible! That maniac hasn't been found nor has he committed a crime in years. If these group of jackals were in any way involved with him, those night guards would've been dead rather than knocked out. Him and his men are true monsters, they don't care about anybody's lives but their own. For many years we've been trying to track him down, but we could never catch him! And I still don't know how he managed to slip through us like we're nothing."

"What can we do now?"

"They're gone. So continue your work on something else."

"Yes, sir."

The sheriff leaves and the expert goes to work on something else.

* * *

[Silvertown, day]

Meanwhile, back in the town. A mysterious anthropomorphic side-striped is looking at the wanted poster of the jackal squad. The Jackal is interested in the poster.

"Hmm…. Interesting." said the jackal.

Outside of Silvertown, there is a strangely large mansion located in the desert. A car pulls up in front of it. And the same jackal comes out of the car with a bag of groceries. He enters the mansion. Inside, there is more jackals wearing tuxedos and there armed with weapons. The jackal walks past them, walks upstairs, and he enters an office. Behind the desk is assumingly the jackal's boss. The boss is sitting in his rolling chair, and he's facing the wall.

"Hey, boss. I'm back with the ingredients to your favorite dessert."

"Why did you come here with it, and not bring it to the kitchen?" the boss asks.

"I came to you first, because I've found something that might interest you, boss."

The boss turns around and looks at the Jackal. The boss is also a side-striped jackal and he is in his early 50's. His height (4'2), his weight is (100lbs). He is wearing a brown suit, has red eyes, Brown and black fur, long ears, white gloves, and he has a scar on the left side of his head.

"Well? What is it?" The jackal takes out the wanted poster and gives it to his boss. The boss looks at the poster. "Huh? Could it be?" He somehow recognizes Stryker. He smirks and chuckles evilly. "So… you're still alive, Stryker."

"Stryker? You know one of these guys?"

"Yes. And now that I know he's alive, I can finally settle the score with him." The boss looks at the picture of Zero. "Oh? This one… he looks just like… could he be?" The boss stands up. "Bone."

"Yes?" said Bone.

"We have a new assignment. We've got reward money to collect and jackals to kill." said the boss.

"How are we going to collect the money when you're the most wanted man in Silvertown?" Bone asks.

"You'll see." He walks up to the door.

"Where are you going, boss?" Bone asks.

"I'm going to seek out an old associate of mine. I'll be back later." The boss walks out of his office. While he is walking downstairs, he is thinking about Stryker. "Stryker. I'm very disappointed that our leader didn't make sure you're dead for what you did. No matter, I'm going to finish what he could not. You and your entire squad are going to die by my own hands." As he walks out the mansion, he laughs evilly. "Hehehehehe! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

End of chapter 6.


	7. Chapter 7: A fateful battle part 1

[Stryker's Nightmare]

In an apocalyptic city. A war is breaking out between the defenders of the city and the terrorists destroying it. The civilians are screaming in terror, missiles are dropping everywhere, the city is up in flames, and the buildings are collapsing. The scene cuts to a few army soldiers, shooting at something behind a huge smoke in front of them. In a few seconds, all of them are gunned down. One of the soldiers is still breathing somehow. As he is trying to get up, a shadowy figure, behind the smoke, is walking towards him.

Scared. "STAY BACK, YOU MONSTERS!" The soldier points his gun at the individual and tries to shoot him, but he is out of ammo, the soldier starts to panic. "NO! PLEASE! STAY BACK, STAY BACK!" The figure walks out of the smoke, revealing to be Stryker when he was a teenager. "Y-you're just a kid!?" Teen Stryker points his gun at the soldier. The solider begs Stryker not to kill him. "NO! NO! PLEASE!"

"No survivors." said Stryker.

"NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Stryker pulls the trigger and kills the soldier.

* * *

[Stryker's Room.]

After the gun fired, Stryker wakes up, gasping loudly. After he wakes up, he looks around sweating and panting heavily. He cools down and places his right hand on his forehead.

"Those dreams, again?" said Stryker.

* * *

[Jackal Squad Living Room]

Radar is in the main room, building some kind of device. Stryker appears and greets Radar.

"Morning, Radar. What are you making?" Stryker asks.

"I'm building an invention called, the spy beetle." said Radar.

"Spy beetle?" said Stryker

"Yes. It is designed to ease drop and track our targets movements, while disguised as a small bug. It has a built-in camera system inside the eyelids, a recorder in it's ears, and it's being controlled and monitored on my laptop." said Radar.

"Hmm. That sound's useful. Where are the others?"

"They all went to the training facility."

"Training sounds nice. I'll go join them."

Stryker heads out.

"Ok." said Radar

* * *

[Training Facility, day]

Zero is training with Ace, as they're sparring with each other. Stryker pulls up at the front gate, gets out of the truck, then enters the facility. He sees Zero and Ace training with each other. They both decided to stop fighting, because they're very tired.

"Alright…. Zero…. that's enough for now." said Ace.

"Very… well then." said Zero.

"Hey, you two." said Stryker.

They both turn and looks at Stryker.

"Hey, boss." Said Zero and Ace.

"I see you're doing combat training today." said Stryker.

"For now." said Zero.

"Well, keep up the good work." said Stryker

Stryker walks to the workout warehouse. Zero and Ace watch him leave.]

"Hey, Ace. Have you noticed that the boss seems calmer than usual?" Zero asks.

"Yeah. I expected him to be more strict on us, after the heist. I wonder what's up with him." said Ace.

* * *

[Workout Warehouse]

In the workout area, Brawn and Scar are working out. Scar is doing sit-ups while Brawn is lifting weights. Stryker enters the area and sees the two working out. Then he picks up a sword, that was placed on the side of the wall.

While doing sit-ups. "Hey, boss. How's it going?" said Scar.

Soft tone. "Fine." said Stryker. Brawn and Scar noticed that something might be on Stryker's mind.

Scar stops doing sit-ups. "You okay, boss? You don't sound like yourself."

"I'm fine, Scar. I'll be training outside if you need me." Stryker takes the sword and goes outside.

To Brawn. "What's up with the boss? Do you think he's still upset about the heist?" Scar asks.

"I don't think so." Brawn wrote.

Outside the Workout Warehouse, Stryker is swinging his sword back and forward.

* * *

[Enter Flashback: M.I.A.A.G Organization, day]

The scene shifts off to a flashback of Stryker's childhood life in the M.I.A.A.G Organization. Young Stryker is training with the leader, on swordplay. He charges at the leader, trying to hit him, but the leader counters his attack.

"WEAK!" The leader slaps Stryker in the face, causing him to fall on his stomach. "Pitiful, Stryker, just pitiful. If you keep performing like this, you'll never be a worthy soldier like Clyde is." Young Stryker gets back up and gets into his fighting stance. Then he charges at the leader again.

Battle Cry. "YAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

* * *

[Training Facility, day]

Switching back to the present day. Stryker stops training after the mini-flashback ended. He places his right hand on his head.

"All those years. Why are they coming back to me all of a sudden?" He asks himself.

Claire appears and walks up to Stryker. "Hey, boss."

"Huh?" Stryker looks at Claire. "Oh, Claire. What's the problem?"

"I'm taking a break from target practice. When I walked out of the warehouse, I saw you, and you didn't look so good. So, I decided to see what was wrong." said Claire.

"I'm fine, Claire, just felt dizzy for a moment. I think I'll take a short break from training."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Claire asks.

Stern tone. "I said, I'm fine!" Claire looks at Stryker with a surprised look on her face. Stryker realizes that his tone was unnecessary. "That was uncalled for. Sorry, Claire." Stryker walks off and Claire watches him leave in worry.

* * *

[Dining room, night]

At night, back at HQ. The Jackal Squad is at the dining room, eating cooked turkey. Stryker isn't with them, however.

"Have you guys noticed that something is up with, Stryker?" Claire asks.

"Yeah, he seems out of it lately. I don't think it's about the mission, though." said Ace.

"Stryker isn't the type of person to stay upset about something as small as that." Brawn wrote. [Then he flips the notepad and wrote.] "Perhaps there's something else that's bothering him."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure he'll get over it soon." said Zero.

"You sure about that, Zero?" Scar asks.

"Yeah. He's the ultimate mercenary, after all." said Zero.

"That doesn't mean he's immune to emotional problems, Zero. No one is." said Radar.

"He's right though, Radar. Boss is strong. I'm sure he can pull himself together on his own. Besides, I doubt he'd want to talk to us about it anyway." said Ace.

"Yeah, so we've got to leave him be for now." Brawn wrote.

"Alright, let's get back to chowing down." said Ace.

* * *

[Silvertown, Night]

Night-time at Silvertown, outside of the town hall. The mayor pulls up, parks his vehicle, then walks up to the front door. A few of the town hall's security guards opens the door for him as he entered the building.

"Welcome, mister mayor." said the guards.

The Mayor is walking to his office, and the guards are following him.

"Okay. So, what business do you three have with me?" The Mayor asks.

"We're not sure, sir." Guard #1.

"We saw a mysterious package sitting on your desk, labeled "Message to the Mayor" on it. We didn't look into it ourselves." said Guard #2.

"You called me from my house at this hour for this? Why couldn't this wait till morning?" The Mayor asks.

"We thought it would be better if you take a look at it immediately, sir." said Guard #3.

The Mayor sighs. "Fine." The mayor and the guards enters the office. But the mayor doesn't see a package on his desk, and his chair is facing the wall. "Okay? So where's the package?"

"Hello, mister mayor." [The voice reveals that someone is sitting in the mayor's chair.]

"What the? Who are you? And what are you doing in my chair?" The man turns around, revealing that it's Clyde the Jackal. The mayor gives out a shocked look on his face, when Clyde revealed himself to him.

"Have you forgotten about me, Mayor? I'm sure it wasn't that long ago, since we've seen each other." said Clyde.

"You're…. Cold-blood Clyde!" said The Mayor. He turns around and looks at the guards. "What are you idiots doing? Arrest him!" The guards takes out their guns and point them at the mayor, instead of Clyde. The mayor looks even more surprised."W-What the heck is wrong with you three!?"

"I think they want you to take a seat, Mayor. We don't want this meeting to turn violent, now do we? The Mayor had no choice but to do what Clyde and the guards ordered him to do, and sits down on a chair. "Wise decision, Mr. Mayor."

Angry. "You've got some nerve coming back to town, Clyde! What do you want from me?" [Clyde tosses the last remaining wanted poster of the jackal squad to The Mayor. He looks at the poster and recognizes it.] "The wanted poster for the arrest of the thieves, who tried to rob the museum last week." [He looks back at Clyde.] "What about it?"

"I would like to make you an offer. Me and my men will track down these guys and bring them back." said Clyde.

"Ok? What does this have to do with me?" The Mayor asks.

"We'll bring in the bandits. But you have to raise the reward money from 10,000 to 10 million dollars."

"Me blowing away that much money behind some thieves? Ha, Ha, Ha. That's a good joke. Why should I follow such an outrageous offer?"

Clyde takes out a huge folder, filled with documents that are classified information. "Why don't you take a look at these papers?" He tosses the dossier to The Mayor. He reads the documents, and he looks horrified as he reads them.

"W-what? How did you?"

"You should've been more careful on who you've hired to be in your cabinet. You never know when you could have snakes lurking inside of it. You really thought you can get away with all of this, didn't you?"

"I get it. You didn't go into hiding for all these years, to avoid being arrested. You waited until you've gathered enough info about me and my history, to use it against me for something sinister you have in mind."

"Good guess for someone who's so clueless. Oh. Did I mention that we have more copies of these files?" [The Mayor looks at Clyde in horror.] "I'm not gonna lie, when I heard all of this information about you, I was shocked myself. The townspeople thinks of you as someone they can trust. Someone that can make their city a better place to live, and they see you as a kindhearted and sincere man. But in reality, you're more of a criminal than the ones you've locked up. I wonder what will happen if we send these documents to the public. Would there be riots? Will there be a maximum sentence for you? Will there be someone out to take your life? Or, if they can't get to you, will they go after your wife and child?" The Mayor is even more scared. "There's a lot of crazy people in this world, Mr. Mayor. We both know that."

"You wouldn't."

Closes his eyes. "You're right, I wouldn't. That is…" Half opens his eyes. "If you're willing to cooperate. Now listen up, I'll make you a deal. If I capture these thieves and bring them back in this town, you have to cover up their deaths, drop my reputation as a criminal, then label me an innocent man. Then… you hand the money over to me. If I fail, then no harm will come to you or your family, and your reputation to the people will stay the same. And don't even think about trying to alert the authorities or open up an investigation, because if you do, we won't hesitate to send the dossier to the media, and you can guess what'll happen next."

"Why? Why are you so interested in catching these guys? And why do you even want that much money behind them?" The Mayor asks.

"Simple, more money more power to me. Regarding the band of thieves, I have unfinished business with their leader. Once I've taken them out, I feel that 10 million dollars is a well deserved reward for me. So… what's it going to be, Mayor? The money or your life? It's your choice."

Clyde laughs as The Mayor looks at him in anger.

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ]

A couple of days has passed. Back in the Jackal Squads HQ, Stryker is seen sitting in his chair, cleaning his sword. Ace appears and greets him.

"Hey, boss." said Ace.

"Ace." said Stryker.

"We're all going to get out of HQ for a little while."

"Where are you guys going?"

"Tombstoneville. We're going to see if we can find something worth stealing there."

"Ace, I'm the one who goes out to find the assignments."

"I know, but we thought that you should take a break for once. So we'll be the ones going out to find a mission today. Is that okay with you?"

Stryker thinks about whether if it is okay for the squad to go off on their own. "Very well."

"Wait? You're fine with it?"

"Yeah. You guys can take care of yourselves. Do as you please."

"Thanks, boss."

Ace leaves and Stryker resumes cleaning his sword.

* * *

[Desert, day]

Outside. The rest of the jackal squad is waiting. Ace comes out and approaches them.

"Was he cool with it?" Scar asks.

"Yeah. Let's head out." said Ace.

They all enters the truck. Scar is the driver and Ace is sitting in the passenger seat. Radar and Brawn is sitting in the middle-row seat, while Zero and Claire is sitting in the back seat. Scar starts the truck, and drives off.

"Hey, Ace. Is the boss feeling better than he's been for the past 2 days?" Claire asks.

"He seems ok." said Ace.

"That's good to hear." said Zero.

* * *

[Clyde's Mansion.]

Back in Clyde's mansion, Clyde is having a meeting with 10 of his henchmen in the conference office. Clyde is up at the board, the henchmen is sitting down at the table, a projector is placed in the center of the table, and the lights in the room is dim.

"Now that the Mayor has agreed to raise the bounty to 10 million dollars, our priority is to bring the bandits back to Silvertown dead or alive. We're going with bringing them back dead." said Clyde.

"What's the plan, boss?" Henchmen #1 asks.

"The plan is to lure them all here for an engaging battle for survival."

"Wait, bring them here? Why can't we just find their location and take them out when they least expect it?" Henchmen #2 asks.

"Eliminating your enemy when they're not prepared for the battle, would be a cowardly move. And you all know how I feel about cowards. I've sent some of our men to find where their hideout is. It's possible that they live somewhere out in the desert." Clyde brings down the projector screen. "Turn on the projector." One of the henchmen turns on the projector. The projector shows a picture of Stryker. "This man right here is their leader… Stryker the jackal. You can kill the others, but nobody kills this man but me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, boss. But why do you want to kill this guy so badly?" Henchmen #3 asks.

"I have a score to settle with him. That's all you need to know. Now… in order to bring them here, we must give them a reason to come."

"How do we do that?" Henchmen #4 asks.

"We capture and hold one of them hostage. That will force Stryker and the rest of his squad to come save their ally."

"What if he doesn't care what happens to his men?" Henchmen #2 asks.

"Oh, he'll care. Every last one of them have abilities that are useful to him. Like this one for example." The projector switches to a picture of Brawn. "He's called, Brawn the jackal, and in terms of physical strength, he's the strongest one in the group. Unfortunately, I can't identify what roles the other jackals might play. So I'm assuming that some are combatant types, and some are technical types. He'll be nothing without either one of them in his team. And judging by the numbers of his men compared to me, It would take him a while to find a replacement member."

"Then this fight will be an easy victory for us." said Henchmen #5.

"Don't get cocky. Just because there are 6 of them, doesn't mean that you should underestimate them. According to the report on their attempt to rob the museum, they seemed to be very well trained mercenaries." Clyde's communicator starts ringing, he picks it up then answers it. "What is it now? I'm in a meeting!"

Over Radio. "Sorry for the interruption, sir. But I think we've found their hideout."

"Really? What does the hideout look like?"

* * *

[Desert, day]

A hummer with 2 of Clyde's men are parked on top of a hill, 80 meters away from the Jackal Squad's HQ. One of them uses his binoculars to identify the warehouse.

"It's a medium-sized black warehouse with a couple of vehicles parked outside of it. How should we proceed?"

Over Radio. "Get closer and use the sleeping gas to knock them out. Once they're all asleep, grab one of them, and leave immediately." said Clyde.

"Understood."

The henchmen drives up to the HQ.

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ]

Stryker is finished with cleaning his sword.

"Ah. Clean as a whistle. Hmph, it's very quiet in here. I don't know how, Radar, does it. Staying here most of the time while everyone goes out training." [Stryker hears a car pulling up outside.] "Hmm? They're back already?" [He gets suspicious, and speaks quietly.] "No, they can't be."

Stryker gets up and crouches towards the window, while holding his sword. He uses his two fingers to open the blinds. He sees Clyde's henchmen getting out of the truck and they're holding some grenades. Stryker gasps, then gets away from the window. He picks up a couple of green daggers, then he runs off to hide. The henchmen throws the grenades through the window. The grenades goes off, releasing a huge smoke all over the place. The men kicks the doors down, and enters the house, armed with guns, and wearing gas masks.

"Where are they?" Henchmen #1 asks.

"Not sure. Let's split up and search the area." said Henchmen #2.

They split up and search the house. Henchmen #1 looks at Radar's computer while Henchmen #2 search somewhere else. He also looks at some of Radar's inventions.

"Hmm. These guys got some nifty technology."

Over Radio. "Hey. Did you two capture one of the squad members?" Clyde asks.

"No, sir. It seems like no one is here. We're searching the area, we'll contact you when we found something."

* * *

[Kitchen.]

Meanwhile with henchmen #2. He is searching the kitchen. He looked everywhere, and he couldn't find anything, so he moves on to somewhere else.

* * *

[Claire's Room.]

He searches Claire's room. He looks in her closet, under her bed, and he searches her bathroom. He hasn't found anything there either. Henchmen #1 contacts him.

Over Radio. "Report in! Did you find them?"

"Negative, I've found nothing. Returning back to the front now."

Henchmen #2 hangs up. As soon as he was about to leave the room, pieces of the ceiling asbestos falls on him. When he looks up, Stryker drop kicks him in the face knocking him out.

* * *

[Scar's Room.]

Henchmen #1 is searching Scar's room. His earpiece started buzzing like crazy.

"Hey, do you read me? What's going on?" [He gets no response.] "Hello? Do you copy?" [He leaves the room to go find his partner. Later, he enters Claire's room and finds henchmen #2 lying down on the floor, unconscious.] "Hey, what happened to you?" [He comes up to his body and notices the asbestos around him. He looks up at the ceiling and sees the two daggers stuck on the ceiling. He leaves the room and contacts Clyde.] "Boss come in, we've got a-

Stryker comes out from the corner and smacks the henchmen's gun out of his hands. Stryker and the henchmen engage in hand to hand combat, but Stryker is winning the fight. The henchmen is trying to land some blows on Stryker, but his reaction is so fast, he's able to counter all of the Henchmen's attacks. The henchmen was being overwhelmed by Stryker, as he is beating him to a pulp. Stryker is strong enough to pick up the henchmen and throw him to the wall. The Henchmen hits the wall hard, and he lands face down on the floor.

Coughing. "UGH!"

The henchmen tries to get back up, but Stryker stomps his head back on the floor. Stryker has his foot on the back of the henchmen's head.

"WHO THE HECK ARE YOU!?" Stryker asks

Henchmen #1 is trying to speak. "S-s-so…you're Stryker." Stryker presses his foot down on him harder. The Henchmen howls in pain.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!? I WANT ANSWERS!"

"T-The boss…has…plans for you… and your squad."

"WHO DO YOU WORK FOR!? WHO SENT YOU!?"

While Stryker is interrogating the henchmen, Clyde is hearing everything from the headset.

Disappointed. "How pathetic." Clyde takes out a device and presses the button on it.

"W-w-we were sent by…"

Before he can finish his sentence, the Henchmen's earpiece starts to electrocute him. Stryker takes his foot off of him and watches the earpiece electrocute the henchmen. The earpiece stopped shocking the henchmen and Stryker looks at the Henchmen's corpse with wide eyes.

"What just happened?" [Then he gets to thinking.] "These guys knew about me. But if…. NO!"

Stryker runs back to the front. The area is clear from the gas. He gets on the computer to contact the jackal squad.

* * *

[Desert, day]

Meanwhile, the jackal squad is still driving. Then all of their communicators are ringing and they answered.

Over Radio. "Everyone. Get back to base now!" said Stryker.

"Boss, what's the problem?" Radar asks.

Over Radio. "SOMETHING'S HAPPENING AND I CAN'T EXPLAIN RIGHT NOW! I NEED YOU ALL BACK HERE IMMEDIATELY!"

"Ok, boss. We're on our way ba-

A huge truck crashes into the Jackal Squad's truck from the right side. The impact caused the car to roll over a hill. The car stops rolling and landed upside down.

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ]

Back with Stryker.

"SQUAD, COME IN! HELLO? CAN ANYONE HEAR ME!?" [Stryker, aggressively, puts down the communicator.] "SHOOT!"

Stryker runs outside and gets in one of the his trucks. He drives off to find where the Jackal Squad is located.

* * *

[Desert, day]

Back at the wrecked vehicle. Brawn kicks the door open and he crawls his way out, along with the others. They have some bruises on them but they're not badly injured.

Shaking his head. "AAH! What in the world?" said Scar.

"Everyone alright?" Ace asks.

Rubbing her left arm. "Yeah." said Claire.

"I'm fine." said Radar.

"Who hit us!?" Zero asks.

They all look up at the top of the hill and they see a couple of men looking down at them. All of them are understandably furious.

"HEY! YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET CRASHING INTO US!" said Zero.

They take out their weapons. Claire has her dual pistols, Zero has his sword, Brawn is cracking his knuckles, Radar has his dagger, and Ace and Scar has their own swords. They're all ready to fight.

"Yes, boss. We've found them." said Henchmen.

Over Radio. "Good. Now smoke them." said Clyde.

"Understood."

"ATTACK!" said Scar.

They all ran up the hill. While running, Claire is shooting at the men, forcing them to duck and run back to the truck. All three of them waited until the jackal squad came back up on the road. When they did, the men threw the sleeping grenades at them. They're all caught in the smoke, and they're coughing and hacking.

Coughing. "Smoke!" said Ace.

The squad slowly stops coughing and they all passed out. The smoke clears, and the men walks up to the unconscious jackal squad.

"Boss said to take only one of them. Leave the rest behind."

"Roger."

Stryker is driving to the squad's location at top speed.

"COME ON! COME ON! GO FASTER!" From a distance, Stryker sees the Jackal Squad laying on the road. He stops the truck, puts it on park, gets out of the car, and runs towards the unconscious Jackal Squad. "NO! I'M TOO LATE!" Stryker runs up to Zero first, then he checks to see if he's still breathing. Then he checks the rest, they're all still breathing as well. But Radar is missing. "They're still alive!" Stryker looks around to find Radar. "Radar!? Radar? RADAR!" He shouts. Stryker gets on his knees and punches the ground. He realized that the men picked Radar and kidnapped him. "DARN! THEY TOOK HIM! But... why just him? Why didn't they take the others as well?" Stryker hears a walkie-talkie nearby. One of the men must've left it behind. Stryker stands up and picks up the walkie-talkie. "HEY! WHO IS THIS? ANSWER ME!"

Over Radio. "It's been a long time, Stryker." said Clyde.

"Who are you?" Stryker asks.

Over Radio. "Did you forget about me, Stryker? About those days in the organization? The war on Grand Metropolis?"

Stryker looks surprised. He now remembers who Clyde is."Clyde."

Over Radio. "That's right. Long time no see, old friend."

Angry. "How? You're supposed to be dead!"

Over Radio. "Hmm. I can say the same thing about you. I thought the leader had eliminated you, after you've ran back to base. Ran away… like a coward."

"How did you find us?"

Over Radio. "I have my ways. You've met some of my men, have you?"

"Yeah. Your goons raided my house. Then…" Stryker then gives a shocked look on his face. "...You killed them, didn't you?"

Over Radio. "Hahahaha. They were of no use to me anymore. So, yes. I rigged both of their earpiece to electrocute them, in case if they've failed me."

Stryker is disgusted. "How could you do that to your own men!?"

Over Radio. "When a soldier can no longer fight then proves himself to be useless, he'll be eliminated, without question. It's how I work, Stryker."

"What do you want!?"

Over Radio. "Did you think I've forgotten about that battle we never finished?"

"You attacked us and kidnapped my comrade over a fight?"

Over Radio. "Yes, Stryker. I took one of them, so you and your remaining team mates can come to my house for a fight to the death. On the back of the walkie-talkie, there is a GPS chip planted to my location. Come to my mansion at exactly 10 p.m. If you come in early or late, he dies. And you would have no one to blame but yourself. Are you going to let your precious team mate die or are you going to actually fight to save him? The choice is yours, my friend."

Clyde hangs up.

Furious. "Darn You! You kidnapped, Radar! You've caused harm upon my team! And you forced us all into a death battle over an idiotic reason! When I get my hands on you, I'm going to make you wish you did die that day! MARK MY WORDS!" Stryker vows.

* * *

[Clyde's Mansion.]

Meanwhile with Clyde. He is in a security room inside his mansion, and there is a mysterious silhouette figure standing behind him.

To the mysterious figure. "Stryker and the rest of his gang will be here soon. Get the bomb squad ready for plan B, then stay put in the training arena till I give you the order to leave." The figure nods, then turns around and walks away. "Don't worry. You'll get your revenge."

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ]

Stryker took the others back to HQ. He placed mats on the floor for each of them to lay on them till they wake up. Stryker is sitting on his chair waiting. Then suddenly all of them are starting to wake up.

Wakes up. "Argh! W-what happened?" said Claire.

Wakes up. "W-what just happened?" said Zero.

"Are we back in the base?" Ace asks.

"Good. You're all awake." said Stryker.

"Boss? What the heck happened?" [Scar noticed that Radar is missing.] "Where's Radar?"

"Radar….has been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped!? Kidnapped by who?" Zero asks.

"By a mercenary I used to work with in the army. Clyde has him." said Stryker.

Scar stands up. "Well, what are we waiting for? We've got to go rescue him now!" said Scar.

"We can't."

Yelling. "SOME FREAK TOOK OUR BEST FRIEND! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WE CAN'T!?" Scar asks

"Because if we go now CLYDE WILL KILL HIM!" Stryker yells back at Scar. Scar calms down after Stryker yelled back at him."If we come to Clyde's house too early or late, he'll kill, Radar, without thinking twice."

"Oh." said Scar.

"Boss. Who is this, Clyde?" Claire asks.

"Clyde was also a mercenary born in the M.A.A.A.G organization."

* * *

[Enter Flashback: Cabin, night]

Taking place back in the past. It was night-time and Young Stryker returns to his cabin. He has scratches and bruises all over his body. He angrily, sits down on his bed.

"It's not fair! It's always about him! It's always about, Clyde!" said Young Stryker.

"Something on your mind?" said Teen Clyde.

[Young Stryker turns and looks at Teen Clyde, who is sitting on a window seal.]

"You!? What do you want!?"

"Hahahah. What? I can't see about a fellow comrade?"

"Don't give me that nonsense, Clyde. What do you want?"

"I heard you didn't do so well with the leader on your training today."

"So, you're here to rub it in my face, because you're his star pupil."

"Hmph. Smart kid, aren't ya? If only your fighting skills are as sharp as your IQ level. Listen, Stryker, there's a reason why _I_ will be the only one that'll kill the boss someday. Because unlike you, I have what it takes to be the strongest mercenary in the entire organization. When I kill the boss and become the new leader, I will make M.A.A.A.G be the most powerful organization in the world. I will invade, destroy, and take over many countries. I will annihilate thousands - no - millions of pathetic life-forms. And I will be the most feared terrorist in the world."

"Yeah, yeah, only in your fantasies will that ever happen." said Young Stryker.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Whatever, Squirt!" Teen Clyde turns his back towards Young Stryker. "Later." He jumps down from the window.

Stryker narrates. "Clyde the jackal. Out of all the men I had to work with, Clyde is without a doubt, the second worst guys I've ever met. Clyde has always been a ruthless mercenary, he mocks everyone who isn't on his level of skills, and he sees everyone as nothing more than bugs that he can step on. Clyde's thirst for battle and bloodshed is greater than most of the other terrorists. The leader considers Clyde to be a worthy successor to him. As we grew older, He assigns Clyde to be his right-hand man. Unlike the kids who also grew up in the organization, Clyde is the only one who enjoys killing, destruction, and causing pain and suffering upon his enemies. Whether if it's under the leader's orders or not. I remember that one time when we were attacking a city in the winter season..."

* * *

[City, Snowy day]

There are a group of eight M.A.A.A.G soldiers engaging in a shootout with another team of soldiers in a city while it's snowing. All of them are using laser guns. The group of terrorists managed to take out the soldiers.

"Area's Clear. Move out!" said one of the terrorists.

They leave the area and goes off to somewhere else. After they left, one of the soldiers are still alive but he is hiding from the terrorists in fear. He looks out from cover and sees that the terrorists are gone.

"Oh, thank goodness they're gone." He said.

While the soldier is not aware, an older Clyde and Stryker along with two other M.A.A.A.G soldiers are standing right behind him. Clyde points the laser at the back of the soldiers head. The soldier is even more terrified now that he knows he has been found.

"Some… Some of them are gone." Clyde looks at the frightened soldier with an evil grin. "Drop your weapon." The soldier does what Clyde says and puts down his laser. "Why don't you and I go have a chat?"

* * *

[Empty Building]

Clyde and the other two soldiers drag the soldier inside an empty building while Stryker followed them. Clyde pushes the soldier to the wall and he just sits there looking at his attackers in horror for a moment. The soldier reaches his communicator to call for back-up but Clyde kicks the communicator off his hand before he can speak. While the communicator is on the floor, Clyde destroys it by stepping on it.

"Sorry, but your other allies won't be coming to save you." To his comrades. "You three, I don't need your help on this. Go back outside and carry on with the mission. I'll be here for a while." said Clyde.

"Clyde, there's no need for this! Just shoot the guy and let's move on." said Stryker.

Looks at Stryker. "First of all, Stryker. You don't give me the orders around here. I tell you what to do. Now if you know what's good for you, I suggest you do what I say and go away." said Clyde.

"I'm not afraid of you, Clyde!"

Clyde smirks. "Is that so? Well… I commend you for not showing any fear of me, Stryker. But did you forget that I'm the leader's right-hand man and he made me the captain of this squad? Which means… that I can easily inform him so many things about you that will get you severely punished by him." Looks at the other two M.I.A.A.G soldiers for three seconds and they look at Clyde in horror. "And if you think these two will back you up, then you'd be sadly mistaken. Now unless you want those problems with the leader, I suggest that you do as I say and leave."

Sighs. "Fine." said Stryker.

"Good." Turns towards the helpless soldier. "Now… Where was I?" Clyde walks towards him while Stryker and his two comrades leave the building.

Begging for mercy. "NO! PLEASE NO!" Clyde presses his foot on the soldier's face up against the wall. Clyde is pushing his foot hard on the soldier's facecausing the helpless man to scream in pain.

"Heheheheh…. I just love making cowards like you scream in pain. It makes me feel good about myself." said Clyde.

Groaning. "W-Why…? Why are you doing this…?" Clyde pushes on him harder. "AAAAUUUGH!"

"There are two reasons why, my friend. One… It's what I do - and two - It's what you deserve for being a useless coward." Clyde takes his foot off of the soldier. The soldier gets on his knees. "Your squad risked their lives trying to stop us from destroying your city, yet you just sat there and watch them die. Didn't even lift a finger to help them. Tragic." Takes out his laser gun and shoots at the soldier but intentionally misses.

The soldier screams and crawls back towards the wall. "Please, don't do this! Please! I have a family!"

Points the gun at the soldier. "Now here's what I'm gonna do. I won't kill you now. I'm going to make you suffer unimaginable pain until I get bored and decide to finish you off. You can cry and beg all you want, it won't convince me to stop. I'm going to make you wish you don't exist in this world. Oh, and don't worry about your family. I'll make sure they'll get the chance to see you again... in the afterlife. hehehehehe…. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH-"

While Clyde is laughing and begins to start the torture, the soldier screams in terror.

* * *

[M.A.A.A.G Organization, cloudy day]

Flashback moves forward. Taking place on the day before the war on Metropolis. Stryker is standing in the crowd as the terrorist leader is giving a speech to all of the soldiers of the M.A.A.A.G organization.

Narrating. "That poor soldier fell victim to Clyde's wrath after I had no choice but to leave. Clyde's dream was to surpass the leader and kill him so he can take over the organization. The rules for a successor to happen, you must challenge and manage to kill the person who currently has the position, Or the leader must pass the title onto the person he chooses to be his successor before he retires or dies. Clyde chooses to get stronger so he can kill the leader and prove that he is the strongest soldier in the military, boosting his ego in the process."

"Gentlemen, it is important that we win this war! Winning will prove that we are the strongest organization in the world! We will strike fear into the eyes of our enemies! We will let them all know who the real soldiers are! WE WILL BE VICTORIOUS!" said The Leader of M.A.A.A.G

The crowd, including Stryker, is cheering him on.

"That time, I never knew that starting a war with a city that has more technology and manpower than we can ever dream of, would be the most suicidal mission I've ever been given. I wasn't afraid before the battle, but when I was out in the field…it was a different story."

* * *

[Grand Metropolis, day]

During the battle, Stryker and his squad are being pinned down behind cover.

"WE'RE TAKING TOO MUCH ENEMY FIRE! WE MUST RETREAT NOW!" Stryker demands.

"RUN FROM A BATTLE? NOT A CHANCE!" said Terrorist #1.

"YEAH!" said the other terrorists.

"I'M THE CAPTAIN HERE! WHEN I SAY WE MUST RETREAT, WE RETREAT!" said Stryker

"YOU MAYBE CAPTAIN, BUT WE KNOW OUR TRUE ORDERS! WE FIGHT TILL WE DIE!"

Stryker takes out a flash bang. "Fine! Have it your way!" Stryker runs off.

"HEY!"

The terrorists tried to gun down Stryker, but he quickly throws the flash bang, to blind them all. Stryker continues running and avoiding enemy fire. Back with the squad, they've recovered their eye sights and sees that Stryker got away.

"Come in! Stryker is retreating, I repeat, Stryker is fleeing the battle!"

* * *

[Destroyed School.]

Stryker runs inside of an empty and half destroyed school, so he can find a safe place from laser fire. He shuts the door and barricades it with a half destroyed desk, then he runs inside the building. The place is heavily damaged with floors burned to a crisp, huge holes on the walls and ceilings, lockers are damaged, and the windows are broken. Stryker hears something, then he looks up.

Looking up. "Huh?"

Clyde comes out from the huge hole in the ceiling, and attacks Stryker from above. "YAAAAAH!" Stryker dodges Clyde's attack.

After he dodged, Stryker pulls out his sword. "Clyde. What's the matter with you?"

"I heard the report. You ran from the battlefield like a coward." said Clyde.

"What I did, wasn't an act of cowardice. It's growing some common sense!"

"That's what you think it is, Stryker, but the facts are the facts. You running away from the battle and abandoned your own squad, is a sign of weakness. Only the strong survive while the weaklings perish. Because of that stunt you pulled." [Points his sword up at Stryker.] "You are now… an enemy!"

"So that's how it's gonna be, huh? The only way to get out of here is to go through you first!"

"That is... if you manage to survive." They both get into sword fighting stance. 8 seconds of pure silence and concentration, then Clyde charges at Stryker. "Prepare to meet your end, Stryker!"

They both clashed swords, and are now engaging in an all out sword fight. Attacking, blocking, and counter attacking. Clyde swings at Stryker, only for Stryker to dodge by sidestepping. Stryker attacks Clyde, trying to get him from the side, but Clyde is fast enough to block Stryker's attack. Clyde pushes Stryker to the wall.

"WHAT'S WRONG, STRYKER? IS THIS THE BEST YOU CAN DO?"

"I'M JUST GETTING STARTED!"

Stryker pushed Clyde off of him, then jumps in the air, performing an air drop attack on Clyde, only for him to dodge it. They both are now clashing swords. So far they're evenly matched in combat. Stryker parries Clyde's attack, then he push kicks him in the stomach, Clyde is sent to the damaged support beam of the building. Clyde shakes his head, opens his eyes, and sees Stryker charging at him. Clyde dodges Stryker's attack. The sword hit's the support beam instead of Clyde, causing it to break. Part of the building starts crumbling. Clyde and Stryker jumps out of the way of the collapsing top floor. The area is covered in brown smoke, making Stryker lose sight of Clyde.

*Cough* *Cough* Stryker stops coughing, and gets back on guard. He is trying to hear Clyde's movements, since he can't see him the smoke. "Alright, you lunatic. Where are you?" Stryker whispered. He is checking his surroundings from above, right, left, and behind him. Stryker hears footsteps from the rear.

Charging at Stryker. "DIE!"

Stryker ducks and trips Clyde, causing him to fall on his face, and loose his grip on his sword. Clyde turns around and sees Stryker attacking him, while he is on the ground. Clyde rolls over and managed to dodge Stryker's attack. Clyde grabs his sword, then he gets up and attacks Stryker. Stryker side steps to the left, but he barely dodges. The blade scratches Stryker in the arm. Stryker yelps in pain, and Clyde kicks him, causing Stryker to land of his back on the floor. Clyde goes for the kill, only for Stryker to block the attack.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAH! Give it up, Stryker, you know you can't win!"

Stryker is trying to push Clyde off, but suddenly, lasers are firing through the windows from outside. The lasers made Clyde jump back off of Stryker. Stryker gets up and he is holding his wounded arm.

"They know we're in here!"

Stryker runs away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Clyde tries to run after Stryker, but the soldiers outside threw a grenade, and it landed in front of him. "OH NO!" Clyde turns around and runs from the grenade before it explodes on him. The grenade went off, and the explosion destroyed the other support beams. The entire building is now crumbling. Stryker, luckily, escapes the building, as he is seen running in the streets. The scene then repeats how Stryker escaped Grand Metropolis.

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ]

Back to the present day.

"After I've escaped the city, I assumed that Clyde died in that building, or he died in the war. But unfortunately, my assumptions was incorrect. Now he's back, and he'll stop at nothing to defeat me in battle."

"Wow, that's one heck of a story." said Ace.

"Well, why is he after us as well?" Claire asks.

"Not sure. But my guess it's either guilty by association or there is a motive behind it. Now, we must arrive at his house at exactly 10:00 p.m. He left me a chip that will direct us to his location. Until 8 o'clock, everyone train and be prepared. Tonight we're going to fight to bring our comrade back."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

[Clyde's Basement]

Meanwhile, Radar is tied up in an unknown room. He wakes up.

"Huh?" [Looks around.] "Wha- where am I?" Radar tries to move his arms, but he now realized that he's tied up. "What the? What is this?" Radar is trying to get loose, but to no avail. "Great. Just great."

Clyde opens the door and enters the room, along with his henchmen, Bone.

"Well, hello there. How was your nap?" Clyde asks Radar.

"Who are you?" Radar asks.

Walks up to Radar. "I am Clyde, Clyde the jackal. Welcome to my basement."

"So you're the boss of those men who crashed into us, huh?"

"Yes, I am their leader. I ordered them to kidnap one of you, and it appears they chose you to be our hostage."

"Hostage? Why are you holding me here? What do you want from us?"

"I want to kill your leader, Stryker."

Surprised. "You know my boss?" Radar asks.

"He and I used to be teammates back in the army, until that coward ran away during the war, and we've never got the chance to finish our battle. I kidnapped you, so Stryker will come and fight me, If he wants to save his little friend."

"If you want to kill him that badly, then why didn't you just kidnap all of us? That would've leave him at a bigger disadvantage, don't you think?"

"It would. And it would also be too easy and boring. I want to get some amusement and give you all fighting chance, before I kill you. He turns his back towards, Radar. "Now then, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a battle to prepare. Before we leave…." [Looks at Bone.] "Bone."

"Sir?" said Bone.

"Bring it here."

Bone looks terrified. "Boss, you don't mean-"

"Yes, that."

"But, boss. That's way too cruel.

"I know… Now bring it."

"But, but…"

"Bone. Should I remind you what happened to the last guy who argued with me?"

"Uh. No, sir. I-I'll go get it."

Bone quickly runs off to fetch something for Clyde. Radar is confused on what "that" is.

"That?" Radar thought.

Bone comes back, holding a small box, then he placed it in front of Radar.

"What is this?" Radar asks.

"Something that'll keep you company before you die. Have fun with your new playmate. Bone, let's go."

Clyde leaves the room. Bone walks up to Radar with a worried look on his face. He places his left hand on Radar's left shoulder, and Radar looks at him confused.

"May the heavens have mercy on your soul, my friend." said Bone.

Yells. "Bone!" said Clyde.

To Clyde. "Coming." To Radar. "Good luck." said Bone.

Bone leaves the room, and shuts the door behind him. Suddenly, the box started shaking, making Radar feel uneasy. A small anthropomorphic chipmunk pops out of the box.

"Hi." said the chipmunk.

Radar starts laughing. "Bwahahahahahahaha! What is this? Hahahahahaha! Is this some kind of a joke? AH..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Hi. I'm Chester Chipmunk! But Clyde and the others calls me, Chatterbox. Anyway, I have a crazy story I want to share with you. I had a bizarre dream last night, I was in a forest, and all of the trees were floating in the air. Yes, yes, they were! Bizarre, right? [The chipmunk has a very irritating high-pitched voice, and he is talking without stopping to breathe.] Then as I was walking while gazing upon the trees, the sky changed from blue to purple. [The chipmunk is starting to make Radar lose his sanity, as he looks at him crazy, and his left eye is twitching.] Then sparkles was falling from the sky, I don't know why, but it was so weird. Then the next thing that happened was-"

While Chatterbox is still talking, Radar screams in pure horror, and calls for the squad to come save him."AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! BRAWN! ZERO! CLAIRE! BOSS! EVERYONE! GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"The flowers started to speak to me, and they said-"

* * *

[Desert, sunset]

At 8:00 p.m. Back at the training facility, everyone is armed and ready to go. Claire has her duel pistols, Zero and Stryker have their swords, Brawn has his strength, and Ace and Scar have their swords. Before they head out, Stryker is giving everyone instructions on what to do.

"Alright, team. This assignment is the most dangerous one of them all. What we're up against is not like any other criminal we've faced in the past. We're dealing with a gang that are working for an extremely dangerous individual. All of you must do whatever it takes to survive and find Radar. While you do that, I'll go deal with Clyde myself. He wouldn't want anyone to kill me, but him. Any questions?" said Stryker.

"Yeah. When we kill this guy, can we take everything he has?" Zero asks.

"Ya know, I've never thought of that. Yes, we'll take everything he owned, after we kill him. Ok, everyone. Rescue mission is at hand. Destroy Clyde and his goons, then rescue Radar. JACKAL SQUAD, LETS MOVE OUT!" said Stryker.

"Yes, sir!"

Everyone gets in the white truck and drives off to Clyde's mansion.

* * *

[Desert, night]

At 9:57 p.m, the jackal squad have found Clyde's mansion. Stryker parks the truck 30 meters away from the house to observe it.

"Whoa, that's one big house." said Claire.

"He's been busy. Now, once we get inside, expect some heavy resistance." said Stryker.

"Bring it on!"" said Ace and Scar.

Stryker resumes driving the truck to the front of the house. All of them gets out of the truck and enters the house. Clyde greets the jackal squad through his home speakers.

Over Microphone. "Congratulations. You've made it here on time." said Clyde.

"Clyde!" said Stryker.

"It's so good to see you again, Stryker. I'm looking forward to our battle."

"Where are you?"

"I've set up a perfect battle arena for the two of us. I marked the location in your GPS. This fight is between you and me, so keep your men out of this. Don't worry, I've told my henchmen not to attack you. Hurry up now. Don't keep me waiting."

Claire is worried. "Boss….are?"

"I'll be fine, Claire. No need to worry about me."

"I know I shouldn't, but he-"

Stryker walks up to Claire and places his right hand on her head."I said, I'll be fine. You take care of yourself and the others." [He takes his hand off of Claire.] "That goes for all of you too. Fight your way through to find and rescue Radar. I'll deal with Clyde once and for all." He turns around, but before he goes, he has something to say to Zero. "Zero."

"Sir." said Zero.

"Watch your back….at all cost." said Stryker.

Stryker goes off to find Clyde.

"Which direction should we take?" Ace asks

"I suggest we split up." said Zero.

"Split up? Zero, that plan almost never works!" said Claire.

"In a horror movie-like situation; of course it doesn't. But this is a different story. This isn't the type of house that only has one passageway. So it'll be easier to navigate the place to look for Radar if we split up. If we stick together as a group, then it would take longer to search every corridor in this place. And it could be more of a problem fighting off those goons, due to the limited space in here.

"Hmm….I guess that could work." said Ace.

"I'm still not sure if this is a good idea." said Claire.

To Claire. "Do you have any better ideas?" Zero asks.

"Um… never mind. Fine. We'll go with your plan, genius." said Claire.

"Ok. Now we all got our communicators on. If anyone of us finds Radar, we contact each other, and we'll meet back here at the front door. Claire, you're with me. Brawn, Ace, Scar all three of you are-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold the phone, Zero!" said Scar.

"What?" Zero asks.

"We're not leaving you two alone without supervision." said Ace.

"Why? You've left us alone back at the museum." said Zero.

"That was different. You're up against mass murderers, not pathetic security guards." said Scar.

"Oh, come on! We can handle ourselves!" said Claire.

To Claire. "You're the most likely of the two, Claire." [To Zero.] "Zero. You however, have yet to prove that you can survive on your own. Besides, that would be irresponsible for us grown men to let two kids go off in a dangerous mission on their own." said Ace.

"This is outrageous!" said Zero.

"Sorry. Now, Brawn, you go with Zero and Claire. Ace and I will go off together." said Scar.

"Roger." Brawn wrote.

"Alright, team. Let's go get our friend back" said Scar.

They all split up to find and rescue Radar.

* * *

[Hallway, Top Floor]

Meanwhile with Stryker. The GPS is leading him to Clyde's location. As he is walking, he encounters some of Clyde's henchmen, who is guarding the area.

"Heh. The boss is going to take you down for sure!"

"So long, tough guy. But don't worry, your squad will be joining you real soon."

Stryker ignores them and continues to find Clyde. The GPS led him to a strange large door, labeled "Combat Room" on it. Stryker enters the room. The room has a lot of space for an indoor combat arena. Clyde is standing there waiting for Stryker, and he's holding his sword.

"Well, took you long enough. Now, Stryker. Shall we begin?" said Clyde.


	8. Chapter 8: A fateful battle part 2

Picking up where the end of part 1 left off.

"Now, Stryker. Shall we begin?" Clyde asks.

Walks up to Clyde. "Before I end you, I want to how'd you survive the war." said Stryker.

"I think you should go first. How did you survive? The leader should've killed you after you retreated back to base." said Clyde.

"I'll admit, I made a poor decision to go back. Now, if you must know; I was beaten, shot, thrown out, then I was rescued. That's all I'm going to tell you."

"Fair enough…. I guess. Now, it's my turn."

* * *

[Enter Flashback: Destroyed School]

Flashback shows the aftermath of Stryker and Clyde's battle, before the grenade went off.

"OH NO!" said Clyde.

Clyde runs away from the grenade before it explodes. He ran up to the barricaded front door. He pushes the desk out of the way, and as soon as he opens the door, the grenade went off. The explosion sends Clyde flying out of the door, and he crashed into a pole outside. The pole knocks Clyde unconscious.

Narrating. "That day. I barely escaped from that explosion."

* * *

[Grand Metropolis Hospital.]

Clyde is being rescued by Grand Metropolis authorities. He was taken to the hospital, as he is seen lying and handcuffed to a hospital bed.

"After the war was over, the soldiers found me and they realized that I was still alive. Instead of eliminating me, I was hospitalized, then was sentenced to life in the maximum security prison."

* * *

[Grand Metropolis Maximum Security Prison.]

Shifting off to Clyde's life in prison. He is sitting down with a group of inmates, watching the latest news on TV.

"One week after my sentence, I've watched the news. It tells the viewers that the Grand Metropolis troops have found M.A.A.A.G and managed to destroy it. Every soldier of the organization has been wiped out. Even our boss. I was very surprised with the news; I thought the organization was strong and invincible. But I was wrong. They lost the battle because they were too weak."

Later on, Clyde and a group of inmates, gathered around a table with a blueprint lying on it.

"I've rotted in prison for 7 years. During those years, I have gained followers and we've came up with a plan to bust out of there. After all that time organizing, we have succeeded." Clyde and his team escaped prison. They are in a stolen vehicle, and are driving away from it. "It wasn't easy to escape, however…"

* * *

[Silvertown, night]

Clyde and his gang escaped Grand Metropolis and they have arrived at Silvertown. As time is going by, Clyde is seen selling weapons to other criminals, murdering other people, gaining more henchmen, ordering his men to commit crimes in the town, and he has been making a lot of money from his crimes.

"We left Grand Metropolis and we have droved for hours in the desert until we've found Silvertown. The perfect place for me to start my own organization."

As time is going by, Clyde is seen selling weapons to other criminals, murdering other people, gaining more henchmen, ordering his men to commit crimes in the town, and he has been making a lot of money from his crimes.

"For many years, I have been building and selling illegal weaponry to my customers and I became a hired assassin. To gain more money and to satisfy my love for striking down the weak. I also had my bandits rob banks. I've became very successful with my work. I've made so much money, that I've become a multi-millionaire crime boss, and I've rounded up an army of dangerous criminals in town."

* * *

[Combat Room.]

Returning to the present day.

"The police have been trying to catch me for so long, but I have always been one step ahead of them every time. My organization is a huge success. My old dream of being the new ruler of M.A.A.A.G may have been dashed, but I got over it a long time ago."

"I see. So you got rich off of selling weapons, criminals stealing money for you, and hired assassinations?" Stryker asks.

"That's right." said Clyde.

"And you stayed at one town and managed to give the police the slip all the time? Hmm... I'm not gonna lie, that is impressive." said Stryker.

Clyde is surprised from Stryker's comment. "Well….thank you. It's unlike you to commend the person who became successful before you, Stryker. I expected you to be jealous of me again."

"Eh…. I'm not really into the whole jealousy thing anymore."

Chuckles evilly. "You really have changed. Now…." Clyde pulls out his sword and gets into his fighting stance. "Let's move on to the battle, shall we?"

"Gladly." Stryker pulls out his sword and gets into his fighting stance. "I'll destroy you for attacking us and kidnapping our comrade."

"Before we begin, Stryker, I want to ask. Are you stronger than you was back then?" Clyde asks.

"I'll let the fight do the answering for you, Clyde."

"Very well. Now, how did I say it again? ...Oh yeah. PREPARE TO MEET YOUR END, STRYKER!"

Stryker and Clyde charge at each other. And they clashed swords.

* * *

[Hallway]

Zero, Claire, and Brawn are caught in a Shootout with Clyde's goons. All three of them are in covering position behind the corners.

"Looks like the party has started." said Zero.

Claire shoots at the enemies from behind cover. Brawn picks up some nearby items and throws them at the henchmen. Claire and Brawn are keeping most of the criminals pinned down.

"Keep them pinned down! I'm going in!" Zero gets out of cover and charge at the henchmen.

"Zero!" said Claire.

Zero cuts them all down when they were distracted by Claire and Brawn.

"Area is clear! Let's move!" said Zero.

The trio is running in the halls and they enter a large circular room. The walls are bricks instead of wood, the floor is dark red, and there are two doors on the left and right side of the walls. All three of them slowly walks in the room, keeping their guards up.

"It's quiet." said Claire.

"Yeah…. Too quiet. Don't drop your guard, not even for a second." said Zero.

Suddenly, the lights turned on. Bone, one of Clyde's henchmen, is speaking to the trio via microphone.

Over Microphone. "Well, well, well. Three little piggy's entered to their demise." said Bone.

"Who is this!?" Zero asks.

"Oh, I'm just one of the guys my boss sent to deal with you." said Bone.

"Sorry to disappoint you, pal, but we're not gonna go down so easily!" said Claire.

"Hmm. Such confidence. Oh! I almost forgot!" said Bone.

Bone pushes a button, then a robotic arm comes out from the ceiling and grabs Zero.

"HEY! WHAT THE!? LET ME GO!" said Zero.

"ZERO!" said Claire.

Brawn is trying to get Zero out of the robots arm but the grip is so strong that even his strength is struggling to get Zero free. Claire helps Brawn but even that's no good.

"GET ME OUT OF THIS THING!"

"WE'RE TRYING!"

The arm shoots up to the ceiling with Zero still in it's grip.

"Zero the jackal." said Bone.

Zero, Claire, and Brawn are shocked that Bone knows Zero's name.

"What!? How do you know my name?" Zero asks.

"Someone called dibs on you, boy." Claire tries to shoot Zero down but her bullets are useless. To Claire. "Try all you want, young lady, but all you're doing is wasting bullets." To Zero. "Now, Zero. It's time for you to leave." Bone activates a laser and fires it at Zero. Zero vanished from the laser. Claire and Brawn are shocked that Zero disappeared.

"ZERO!" To Bone. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

"Relax, he's still alive. I just teleported him to another area. You two on the other hand, will die here in this room." The two doors opened, and an army of robots comes out and surrounds Claire and Brawn. The duo gets into back to back position. "You're not the only one who have inventors in your squad, you know. Now, it's time for me to go. Goodbye. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Tch! He's underestimating us! Brawn, you ready for this?"

"Ready when you are!" Brawn wrote.

"Alright!" Reloads her guns. "ATTACK!"

Claire and Brawn engage in battle with the robots. Brawn is using hand to hand combat and brute strength. While Claire is using her gun slinging abilities and hand to hand combat to destroy the robots. The duo is working together by watching each others back and they're holding their own against their robotic foes. Brawn grabs and tossed three robots in the air, then Claire jumps up in the air and shoots them all in the head. She lands back on the floor, reloads quickly, and goes back in the fight. More robots are coming out of the doors. One robot was about to attack Claire from behind but Brawn destroys it, by throwing another robot at it. Saving her. Claire and Brawn goes back into back to back position as more robots are cornering them.

"Hmph. Looks like we're going to be busy for a while." Brawn nods in agreement. "I hope Ace and Scar are holding up well." They both goes back to fighting.

* * *

[Hallway, upper floor.]

Scar and Ace are fighting a group of Clyde's henchmen and all of them are using weapons. Ace and Scar have their swords while the henchmen are using daggers.

"WHERE IS OUR FRIEND!?" Scar asks.

The henchmen ignores Scar's question and kept fighting. The duo managed to defeat the group of henchmen, but leaves one alive for interrogation. Scar grabs and picks him by the neck.

"Talk… NOW!" said Ace.

"Darn it! We was so close to finishing the both of you." said the henchmen.

"And now you're gonna be joining your friends in the afterlife, if you don't tell us where you've taken our comrade!" said Scar.

Scar is choking the henchmen. "A-Ack…O-ok, ok! T-The basement…. The boss took the hostage…. To the basement."

"Thank you." Scar knocks him out.

"They faired well. I'll give them that." said Ace.

"Let's go back downstairs. The entrance to the basement ought to be there." said Scar

The duo heads to the basement.

* * *

[Clyde's Basement]

Down in the basement, Ace and Scar runs up to the door. Ace quietly grabs the door handle while Scar is on the defense. Ace gives Scar an on my mark signal before opening the door. So they can be prepared for a potential ambush after they open it. They opened the door.

"Radar!" Both said.

They both see Radar being tormented by Chatterbox. They both look very confused.

"What the?" Both said.

"And that's how Clyde found me. I still don't know why he decided to adopt me, but I'm very grateful to him for giving me a home and…"

While Chatterbox is still talking, Radar looks at Ace and Scar. "DON'T ASK! JUST GET ME OUT OF HERE!" said Radar.

Ace runs up to Radar and unties him. They ignore Chatterbox, ran out of the room, then shuts the door behind them.

"Are you alright, Radar?" Ace asks.

Breathing heavily. "10 hours….10 hours! He talked for 10 hours… *Cough* *Cough* *Cough* I tried telling him to shut up but he wouldn't listen to me." He grabs Scar by his chest. "*Cough* *Cough* What took you guys so loooong? UUUGH!" Scar slaps Radar. "GAH!" The slap managed to get Radar back to his senses. "Thank you. I needed that."

"Anytime." said Scar.

"You good now?" Ace asks.

"Yes. Now… The useful part of that excruciating pain I've endured, the squirrel talked about Clyde and his plan."

"Plan? What did he say about his plan?" Ace asks.

"He heard Clyde say that he plans on blowing up the entire house." said Radar.

Scar and Ace are shocked. "What!?" said Scar.

"Why would he want to destroy his own house?" Ace asks.

"My guess is that if we manage to get him on the verge of defeat, he'll set off the bombs so we won't steal everything he has. And it must be a backup plan to destroy us along with him."

"He's insane." said Ace.

"We've got to find the bombs and deactivate them before that maniac blow us all to smithereens." said Scar.

"Where are the others?" Radar asks.

Scar contacts the others.

"Hello? Can anyone read me?" Scar asks.

Over Radio. "Scar…. I read you!" said Claire. Gunfire and explosions can be heard over the radio. "Did you find, Radar?" Claire asks

"Yes, we've found him! Where are you?" Scar asks.

"We're busy…." [Losing connection.] "I can't…." [The connection is lost.]

"Claire? Claire, can you hear me?"

"Communication must've been disrupted." said Radar.

"Darn it! Claire was right. Splitting up was a bad idea." said Ace.

"We don't have to time for regrets, boys! We've got to find the bombs!" said Scar.

"We need to know how many bombs are planted first." said Radar.

"Looks like we're gonna have to make some of Clyde's goons talk. Come on. Let's get moving!" said Scar.

The trio runs off to find and deactivate the bombs.

* * *

[Combat Room]

Stryker is having a fierce battle with Clyde. Stryker pushes Clyde through the door. Now they're both fighting in the hallways. They break through a nearby door entering another room, which is an arcade room. They stopped fight for a moment, and Stryker looks around.

"An arcade room. Nice." said Stryker.

"Why, thank you. I was talked into gaming a long time ago." said Clyde.

Then they go back to fighting. Their fight is destroying some of the arcade machines.

"You don't seem to mind me breaking your stuff!" said Stryker.

"I can have them repaired in a heartbeat! Now die!" said Clyde.

* * *

[Cellar]

Zero appears in a dark cellar. He looks around the place, wondering where he is.

"What the…. What is this place?" Zero gets his guard up and starts searching for a way out of the cellar. He sees a giant wine barrel heading right at him and he dodges it. "WHO'S THERE!? COME OUT AND FACE ME, COWARD!" Zero sees someone coming out from the corners. He is shocked to see who the person is. That person is his own father, Axel. "What? You?"

"Hmph. Surprised to see me again?" Axel asks.

"Axel? What are you doing here?" Zero asks

"The real question is: Why are you still alive?" Zero growls at Axel. "You were supposed to die out in the desert after you left."

"So your little hopes and dreams didn't come true. That's just too bad."

"Oh. I'll make them come true by destroying you myself."

"Fine. Before we begin, I want to know. How did you get involved in all of this?"

"Back when I was a bandit, Clyde was my boss." Zero looks surprised. "When I was a boy, I grew up as a homeless child in Silvertown. I didn't have a mother and father of my own. Until, Clyde, found me and took me away from the streets."

* * *

[Enter Flashback: Silvertown, day]

Axel's childhood. In silvertown, Kid Axel stealing bread from a local shop.

"I used to steal food in order to survive." Kid Axel runs to a nearby alley, and starts eating the bread. Clyde approaches Kid Axel and sticks his hand out to him. Offering to take him under his wing. "Clyde saw my performance, then he took me in and trained me to be his bandit."

* * *

[Clyde's Mansion, training area.]

Clyde is training kid Axel on swordplay.

"He was the only father figure I've ever had in my life. But that doesn't mean that he was a loving one."

* * *

[Silvertown, day]

Many years has passed. Axel, in his teenage years, is robbing the Silvertown bank. With the help of Clyde's other henchmen. They ran out of the bank, carrying a bag full of money, then they get in the truck and drives away.

"He also taught me skills, that were useful in robbing other places. I've been Clyde's personal thief for years. All I ever knew was to serve, Clyde."

* * *

[Desert, day]

Axel, now an adult, is driving alone out in the desert.

"Until, once his dream came true, I've outlived my usefulness. So he kicked me out, and threw me away like trash."

* * *

[Grey City Bar]

Axel is seen sitting in a bar, drinking, and he is very depressed.

"I moved to Grey City. And I gave up being a bandit ever since he kicked me out. I thought that my life was over. I didn't know what should I do, now that I'm no longer apart of Clyde's life. Until…."

A female Jackal approaches Axel.

"Excuse me." said the Female Jackal.

Axel looks at her.

"Huh?" said Axel.

"Do you mind if I sit here with you?" she asked.

"I met the woman I loved."

* * *

[Cellar]

Flashback is over.

"That woman was your mother."

"That wasn't my fault."

"IT IS YOUR FAULT! Because of you, I lost the only person who actually loved me." Axel walks up to Zero. "After you left, I felt at peace. I thought that you died out there in the desert and my love has been avenged. But when Clyde found where I lived, he offered me a chance to rejoin him for one last time. He figured that you were my son, and when he showed me that poster of you and your gang, I fell into despair again. The boy who killed my wife is still alive and well while I'm still grieving over her death. Now… I'm going to do what I should've done a long time ago. I'm going to avenge, Ellie…. [Axel points his sword at Zero.] By taking your life."

"Do you really think killing me will make everything better for you?" Zero asks.

"Killing you will leave me at peace and she can finally rest!" Axel Charges at Zero. "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Zero dodges Axel's attack by jumping up in the air. He landed on top of the large wine cabinets.

"You should've stayed home, Axel!"

"And let you live on with your life with that little gang of yours? Not a chance! NOW DIE!"

Axel jumps up and attacks Zero, only for him to dodge him. Axel's attack destroyed the cabinet and wine is spilled everywhere. Zero lands back in the floor.

"If that's how it's gonna be, then fine."

Zero decides to fight Axel and Charges at him. The father and son engage in battle. Zero is getting the upper hand on Axel. Axel hasn't trained in years, so he's very rusty. Zero push-kicks Axel and launches him to the cabinets."

"What's wrong, Axel? Is that all you've got?" Axel gets up and growls at Zero. "Maybe all those years of doing nothing but sit on your tail made you weak."

"I may not be in my prime. But I'm still strong enough to take you down!"

Axel charges at Zero.

* * *

[Robot arena]

Claire and Brawn finally took out all of the robots. Claire is panting, sweating, and there's smoke coming out of the barrels of her guns. Brawn is breathing through his nose, and he is sweating as well.

"Ok… That should be the last of them." Claire reloads and realizes that she is running low on ammo.] "Shoot! I don't have that much left on me. I'll have to rely more on my fighting skills." Claire thought. [To Brawn.] "Hey, Brawn." Brawn answers by looking at her. "I say, we split up."

Brawn takes out his notepad and wrote. "Split up?"

"Yeah. We have to find, Zero. But Ace and Scar might need help with Radar. I'll go look for Zero while you go off to help the others." said Claire.

"Going off on your own though?" Brawn wrote.

"I'll be fine, Brawn. Trust me."

"Ok, I trust you."

Smirks at Brawn. "Don't worry. I'll be back with Zero in no time. When you find them, we'll go find the boss. Alright, I better get going."

"Be careful, Claire."

"You too, big guy."

Claire and Brawn split up.

* * *

[Hallway, lower floor.]

Meanwhile with Ace, Scar, and Radar. They've defeated more of Clyde's goons off-screen. They left one of them alive for interrogation.

"HOW MANY BOMBS ARE IN THIS HOUSE!?" Scar asks.

"F-Four bombs! I…I swear th-there's only four!"

"Where are they planted?" Radar asks.

"Two of them each are planted in different weapon rooms on the upper and lower floors. I-I swear that's all I know!"

Scar tossed the henchmen to the ceiling, knocking him out.

"Let's go!" said Ace.

The trio is searching the hallway to find the weapons room. After minutes of searching, they found a door labeled "Weapons Room #1: Fire Arms".

"Found 1!" said Scar.

They entered the room and it is filled with different types of hand guns. The first bomb is placed in the center of the room, inactivated. Radar goes up to the bomb and starts to disarm it.

"I'll take care of this. Watch my back!" said Radar.

"On it!" Said Ace and Scar.

* * *

[Hallway, lower floor.]

Bone is running in the hallways.

"There's no telling if the boss will blow this place up! I must get out of here now!" Bone went around the corner and he bumps into Claire. Claire kicks him and launches him to the wall. While he had his back against the wall, Claire points her gun at him, causing him to raise his hands in the air in fear. "GAH! You're still alive!? No…wait! Don't shoot me! Please, I don't want to die!"

"Hmm… I recognize that voice. You're the one who sent those robots to destroy us. Now look at you… Begging for your life when you didn't have a problem with trying to take ours."

"Listen… I-I was just following orders! It was, Clyde! He told me to do it! Please, for the love of life, don't shoot me!"

"Tell me where you sent Zero to and I'll think about it."

* * *

[Arcade Room]

Back with Clyde and Stryker. Both of them are bruised and battered but they're still fighting. They are clashing swords and pushing each other back. The arcade room is half destroyed.

"It's over, Stryker!"

They pushed so hard, both of their swords slipped from their hands. Clyde tries to grab his sword, but Stryker stops him by kicking him the face, launching him to the wall. Clyde gets up and charge at Stryker. Both of them are now engaging in hand to hand combat. However, Stryker was getting the upper hand over Clyde. Clyde lands some good blows on Stryker but Stryker is a better fighter than Clyde. Clyde pushes Stryker to the wall but Stryker push-kicks him in the stomach, making Clyde get off of him. Stryker punches Clyde multiple times, then he Roundhouse kicks Clyde in the face. Clyde almost went through the window. Stryker charges at Clyde while Clyde is reaching his left hip with his right hand. Stryker rams into Clyde and they both are falling out the window. They landed on another platform in the mansion, Stryker used Clyde's body to break his fall, ending their battle once and for all.

Looks at Clyde with anger and he is heavily tired. "Y-you're right…. It is over." said Stryker.

Clyde gives Stryker a painful smirk and chuckles evilly. "I-impressive, old friend….. however... Before you go out to fight….." Stryker looks shocked then he looks down and see's that Clyde took out his dagger before the fall. He stabbed Stryker on the right side of his stomach. "Always….carry a side arm." Stryker gets off of Clyde and he removes the dagger. No blood is shown. "You may have won….the battle." Stryker looks at Clyde and sees him take out a detonator. Stryker looks horrified. "But you've lost….the war."

"NO!" Stryker tried to take the detonator from Clyde, but it's too late. Clyde pressed the button and activated the bombs.

* * *

[Hallway, lower floor.]

5 seconds before the bombs explode. Ace, Scar, and Radar are running in the hallway.

"That's two down. Now all we need to do is-" said Radar.

The bombs from upstairs exploded, causing the entire mansion to start collapsing. Claire is running to the cellar to get Zero, but she is blocked by the crumbling ceiling. Down at the cellar, Zero and Axel stopped fighting and is trying not to get hit by the falling objects coming from the ceiling. The light bulb's mercury exploded onto the spilled wine, causing the entire place to catch on fire. The fire is spreading all over the house.

* * *

[Burning Hallway, lower floor]

Brawn is trampled by the fallen objects, but he is durable enough to survive. He gets out of the rubble then noticed that the house is on fire and is falling apart. Brawn hurries to find his comrades. He eventually finds Scar, Ace, and Radar buried in the rubble.

"B-Brawn!" All three said.

Brawn lifts the rubble off his friends and helps them stand up.

"We're glad to see you, man." said Ace.

"We were too late to deactivate all of the bombs." said Radar.

"But we've still got time to find the others and get out of here, right?" Scar asks.

"I'm not always good on time. But I'll say that this place will completely collapse in 10 minutes." said Radar.

"Then we have to hurry! No more splitting up! First, we'll go find Zero and Claire, then we'll go find Stryker and get out of here! Let's go!" said Ace.

All four of them runs off to find Zero and Claire.

* * *

[Burning Cellar]

Down in the cellar, Zero is buried under some rubble. He gets out of it and sees that the place is on fire.

"WHAT!? WHAT IS – ARGH! NEVERMIND THE QUESTIONS! I GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!" said Zero

Zero was about to leave the cellar, only to be stopped by Axel.

"Where do you think you're going?" Axel asks.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? IF WE STAY HERE, WE'LL BOTH DIE!" said Zero

"I won't be dying alone, I'M TAKING YOU DOWN WITH ME!" said Axel.

Axel is attacking Zero while Zero is dodging and blocking them. Axel parries Zero, and scratches him in the right eye. Zero shouts in pain and Axel punches him to the cabinet. Axel tries to stab Zero while he is on the floor, only for Zero to dodge him by rolling to the right. Zero gets up. Him and Axel are angrily looking at each other."

"Let's end this!" said Zero.

"For, Ellie!" said Axel.

They both observe each other from a distance, they charge at full force, then they leap. Before they end their battle, a montage of flashbacks appears with Young Zero and Axel's relationship. With Axel mistreating Zero since he was a baby all the way up to his current age. The final flashback replays Zero leaving Axel….."

"Goodbye, Axel."

They both give their final attack. Zero lands in a crouching position and he is holding his sword up. Axel is in a standing position and he is holding his sword down. Zero is facing forward without looking at Axel and a few strings of hair comes out of his dreadlocks. He is calm and undamaged. Axel, on the other hand, is shaking and he looks shocked.

"N-No. I-It can't be." Axel drops his sword and collapsed on the floor. Zero stands up, covers his right eye again, then he walks to Axel. Axel is crying. "I-I'm sorry, Ellie. I-I failed." Zero stands before Axel and looks down at him with a stern look on his face. Axel looks up at Zero with an angry and sad look on his face.

"Look's like it's over for you." said Zero.

Dying. "L-Look at yourself….trying….to be something you're not! *Cough* *Cough* Someday…. Someone will remind you….what you really are."

Axel closes his eyes and draws his last breathe. Zero killed Axel. His own father. As he is looking at his father's corpse, a tear comes out of Zero's left eye, then he walks away and leaves the cellar without saying a word.

* * *

[Burning Hallway, lower floor]

Claire is still conscious but she is covered in smoke. She continues to look for Zero. Zero comes out from the corner and Claire bumps into him.

"Zero!" said Claire.

"Claire!" said Zero.

Claire checks to see if Zero is ok. She noticed that his right eye has a scratch on it. "Your eye…."

"I'm fine, Claire! Come on, let's find the others and get out of here!" They both starts running.

* * *

[Burning Hallway, lower floor]

Stryker is seen lying on the floor, heavily wounded, and there is no sign of Clyde. He tries to get up but his wound and injuries are too much for him to stand.

In pain. "A-Ack! Ah…..hah…n.. no. I-I-It can't end like this…not….again…." Stryker is unable to stand. He turns and lays on his back, staring at the burning ceiling. "..Brings back memories…." Stryker closes his eyes. And once he reopens them, everything changes from being In a burning mansion, to out in the desert.

* * *

[Desert, day]

24 years ago, after Stryker was tossed out of the M.I.A.A.G organization. Stryker is laying on his back, staring at the sky as he is waiting to die. Stryker is crying because this was the first time he gets to know how it feels to die.

"S-So this…. Is how…. It feels, huh? I-Is this it? Am….I really going to….die here?" Stryker hears someone coming. He turns and sees a camel walking up to him, and he closes his eyes.

Narrating. "Ever since I was a kid, all I've ever knew was fighting and what it takes to be strong. Growing up in the organization, they've taught me nothing except how to fight and kill. I've never learned anything positive from that place. No love, No compassion, No friends, nothing. I never cared about anyone who dies whether if it's by my hands or someone else's. Until…that day… [Image of Stryker laying down in the desert appears.] I felt their pain…. The feeling of losing your last breath, your body not functioning anymore, and as you try to keep your eyes open… Y-You just can't. That was the worst feeling I've ever felt. The villager who rescued me and his people showed me something I never understood. Kindness, love, and a different side of mankind. I could've just left them after I woke up, but I decided to stick around for those past 4 years. After I've finally decided to go on with my own path, I wanted to build my own empire. However, compared to what I was in the army; I've been more caring to those who stays by my side. I've also become smarter and more of a person than a killing machine. Creating the Jackal Squad. A band of strong mercenary bounty hunters. We treat each other more than just team mates. We look out for each other, we bond together as a pack, and we'll do anything to make our dreams come true. But there's that one member who stood out to me more than the rest. Zero. Perhaps, the only member of the squad that I didn't convince to join us. A boy who wants to become the strongest and the one who saw me as a role model. I've never had someone who wanted to be like me before. When he told me he wanted to be the new ultimate mercenary, I…I felt happy for him, I wanted to see him succeed. Sure he may not be as skilled as the others. But his ambition to become stronger is greater than that of the rest. My team…. Everyone of them means a lot to me. I would've never gotten so far without them."

* * *

[Burning Hallway]

Back to the present, Stryker is crying but he is also smiling and chuckling.

"Looks…like…that's it for me. Everything…is all….on you, Zero. Wow…..what a life I had." Stryker's vision is blurry. He turns to the left and sees someone running towards him. "What a life I had…." Stryker closes his eyes and there are muffled voices in the background after Stryker closed his eyes.

* * *

[Burning Hallway, lower floor]

The house is about to collapse. Zero and Claire is running as fast they could. Scar calls in.

Over Radio. "CLAIRE! ZERO! CAN YOU HEAR ME!?" Scar asks.

"SCAR, WE READ YOU! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Zero asks.

Over Radio. "WE'VE MADE IT OUTSIDE! HURRY AND GET OUT OF THERE!"

The duo made it to the front door and escaped the collapsing mansion. The house is completely destroyed.

* * *

[Desert, night]

Zero and Claire stops to take a breather for a moment.

"We… We made it!" said Claire. Contacts the others. "Jackal squad. We've made it out alive. What's your location?"

Over Radio. "Thank goodness. We're at the truck." said Ace.

"Understood. We're on our way." said Zero.

The duo walks to the truck's location. When they got there, their met with a shocking surprise. Scar, Ace, and Radar looks at them with sad faces.

"What's going on? What's with the faces?" Zero asks.

All three showed them what happened. Brawn is holding Stryker's lifeless body. Zero and Claire are shocked.

"Boss!" said Claire and Zero.

They run up to Brawn and gazed upon Stryker's corpse.

"I-Is he?" Zero asks.

Brawn shakes his head as a yes. Claire is in emotional agony.

"B-Boss? Boss, come on! W-Wake up." She shakes Stryker's body. "B-Boss! Come on, boss. Stop fooling around!"

"Claire." said Zero.

"Boss! STRYKER! COME ON, WAKE UP! WAKE UP, DARN IT! BOSS, WAKE UP!" said Claire.

"Claire, that's enough!" said Ace.

Ace grabs Claire. Claire is trying to get loose from Ace. "Let me go! He's not gone! He's unconscious! Tell me he's unconscious, Ace! Tell me he's unconscious!" Claire is crying on Ace's chest. Zero turns around and looks down to hide his emotions.

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ]

Everyone except Zero is sitting in the main room. They're all sad, quiet, and they have bandages covering their wounds. Scar finally says something.

"So….. what now?" Scar asks.

Everyone is silent.

"Hmm. Forget I asked." said Scar.

"So what will happen to the Jackal Squad?" Radar asks.

"I guess…. We'll just have to decide who will be the new leader." said Ace.

"No one can replace, Stryker, Ace." said Claire.

"I know…. But…."

Claire stands up and walks outside.

"Where are you going?" Scar asks.

"To check on, Zero." said Claire.

* * *

[Desert, Night]

Outside. Zero is sitting in front of Stryker's grave, which is on the right side of the warehouse. He is holding his sword and he has a bandage wrapped around his right eye. Claire approaches Zero.

"Hey…. Zero. Don't you think you should come inside?" Claire asks.

"I'll be there in a minute." said Zero.

"Ok… Just thought I should check on you." Claire turns around and walks away.

"Hey." said Zero.

Claire stops walking and looks at Zero. "What?"

"What do you think about the world?" Zero asks.

"Well, I'm not sure why you're asking, but…." Thinking. "Well, I don't know what to really think of the world."

"You don't think it's about survival?" Zero asks.

"Um, uh, yeah. Survival is one thing about it. But I feel there's more to it than that." Scratches her head. "I can't put my finger on it though."

"Hmm. You know there are tons of people who have their own views of life; Stryker was no different. However, his view of the world makes more sense to me. Only the strong lives on while the weak gets left behind. Many people wish to find some sort of meaning and purpose to want to live. Whether if they want to live in a wealthy lifestyle, want to live so they can have a family of their own, or want to live their lives as successful people. But in order for you to find a better purpose in life, strength is the most necessary feature to have, whether in mental, physical, or both forms. If you have no means to get stronger and improve yourself in order to achieve that dreams of yours, then what's the point of wanting that life to begin with?"

Sits besides Zero. "Well, I see where you're coming from. To answer your question, is that some people just have dreams they wish to come true. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't, and they just have to learn to except it and move on with something else. By the way, I'm sorry about the way I acted towards you when we first met. I can't always trust everyone in the world. Especially, if it's the person I barely know." said Claire.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." Zero looks up at the full moon. "The moon. It never ceases to be beautiful."

Looks at the moon with Zero. "Yeah, I can see why people like too look at it."

"The moon is vast, admired, and many consider it as something to look up to when you're feeling down. That was Stryker to me."

Stops looking at the moon and looks at Zero. "I see."

Stops looking at the moon. "Before joining the squad, I thought the only purpose I have in this world is to be nothing but trash to everyone around me. Zero - my name - has a meaning to the words that I hate the thought of me being. Weak, pathetic, and worthless. Those words describe you as nothing but a waste of air and when you pass on from this world… That's what they'll always remember you as. That story I told you about my past holds no truth in it. The reason why I choose to join the squad is to find a greater purpose in my existence. Besides being nothing… A nobody who feels that the world will never see him as something greater than that. [Zero looks at his reflection in his sword.] To me, dying is merciful than living that life. I've been trying to prove that I'm not worthless for as long as I can remember. The method I've used before didn't do me any favors at all. I've gained nothing and I've been living in a foolish life. But even after all of that, I never gave up. Becoming the ultimate mercenary means that you have something to hold onto for the rest of your life. You have people that love and respect you for who you are and what you've done for them. You become a strong person that can take on the world without showing fear or vulnerability. I want to become the ultimate mercenary, but I want to feel like I've earned the title rather than being past onto from another man's demise. Earning your strength and honor is a much better outcome than have it handed to you on a silver platter. That is a sign of weakness. I don't want to live or die a weakling. That is my motivation to get stronger. I'd rather die an honorable and noble death than live like a worthless being. I don't seek strength just so I can prove a point, I seek it so I can be somebody while I'm still living." said Zero.

"Zero." said Claire.

Gets up. "Ok. I guess that's enough sitting out here. We better try to get some sleep. We can't restore our energy without it." said Zero.

"Yeah, you're right." Zero walks away. "Zero?"

Stops walking and looks at Claire. "What is it?"

"One of Clyde's henchmen said that someone called dibs to kill you. Did you have some history with that person?" Claire asks.

"It was a fool. That's all you need to know." Zero goes back inside.

"Wow…. He's come a long way. I guess Stryker was right about him all along."

"There's more to him than what you guys think. You'll see." Stryker's voice from Chapter 4.

Claire looks at Stryker's grave. "Thank you, Stryker. For everything." Claire gets up and goes back inside HQ.

End of chapter 7.

 **Additional words to the reviewers:**

 **Hey, guys! I know I haven't been talking to you, but I thank you all so much for reading this story. The next chapter will have a big time skip. And will be the final chapter to "Memories of Infinite's past." The next chapter will follow up to the "Rise of infinite and episode shadow" story. There will be more jackals in the jackal squad. And it will be the chapter were Zero's character starts to change. After the last chapter there will be an epilogue where Zero and the Avatar starts to interact with the each other. And I plan on doing a character analysis with Zero/Infinite and how it somewhat could connect to the canon series. Now I would like to ask you a couple of questions:**

 **1\. If Infinite and the jackal squad was written like how I am writing them. How would they stand out compared to other Sonic characters?**

 **2\. I have a friend that is building a business campaign that involves getting in touch with Sega and he promises to let them know about this story. If/When he is able to meet up with them in person. Would you like for this story to be canon? Meaning it to become an ascended fanfic? Or at least sega taking some inspirations from it?**

 **Thank you all for your time. See you next chapter.**


	9. Rise of Infinite

The chapter begins with present Zero narrating.

Narrating. "Even after Stryker's death, the jackal squad still lives on. We went back to searching for more recruits and we've continued to do our missions. At first… we went on without having a leader. But as the years gone by, I was voted to be the new captain of the entire squad. The new recruits praised me so much, that they believed that as long as I'm the leader, we'll all survive. My dream of becoming the ultimate mercenary came true. But…. That day…. I've made the biggest mistake of my life." said Zero.

* * *

[Desert, day]

4 years later, A new jackal is walking in the desert. This jackal has bandages over his arms and legs, he has a backpack, and he is wearing a black head band.

"Ahh. Nothing like a nice stroll and the feel of fresh air to brighten your day." said the Jackal. He then decided to climb a hill-top. Once he reached the top, he spots a strange pyramid. "Huh? What in the world is that?" He takes off his backpack, opens it, and takes out a pair of binoculars. He sees Dr. Eggman opening his door to look outside. "Who's that guy?"

Eggman sees the phantom ruby sitting in front of his door.

"What in the world?" Eggman picks up the mysterious ruby. Once he touched it, the ruby activates and shows an illusion of Eggman land from Sonic Unleashed. Eggman is shocked and he drops the ruby, causing the illusion to fade away. "No wait! Bring it back!" The illusion disappears and Eggman picks up the ruby. "AWW…. Somehow this mysterious gem caused that hallucination. That could be useful. Prepare to be researched, jewel!" Eggman walks back inside with the phantom ruby.

Back to the jackal.

"Hmmm….." He puts the binoculars back in his backpack, then he takes out a laptop and a robotic bug. It is the spy beetle. The jackal activates the robot and controls it via laptop. It enters Arsenal Pyramid and makes it's way towards Eggman's laboratory.

Inside. Eggman walks up to Orbot and Cubot.

"What was it, boss?" Orbot asks.

"It's this gem." Eggman shows Orbot and Cubot the phantom ruby.

"Ooooh! Shiny!" said Cubot.

"I've never seen anything like this before. What is it?" said Orbot.

"I'm not sure what kind of stone this is. I'll have to do some research on it to find out."

While Eggman begins his research on the phantom ruby, the spy beetle is analyzing him. The information about Eggman appears on the jackal's laptop.

"Dr. "Eggman" Robotnik, huh?" The Jackal controls the beetle to search the entire laboratory. "All of that technology looks very expensive." The Jackal brings the beetle back to him, then he puts it and the laptop back in his backpack. "I must head back to base. The boss has got to see this." He runs off.

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ]

Back at HQ. The warehouse is larger than it was years ago and there are more trucks parked outside. Inside. Radar, along with some other jackals, are on the computer. Claire, Brawn, and three jackals are sitting down eating snacks. Zero is sitting on Stryker's old chair and looks bored. Zero and Claire are now 19 years old, Brawn is in his 50's, and Ace, Scar, and Radar are in their early 30's.

"I'm bored." said Zero.

"Well, why not go to the training facility and train?" Radar asks.

"Still…. Boring. We haven't had a mission that requires all of us to complete in a long time." said Zero.

Ace and Scar enters the warehouse, carrying some bags.

"Hey, Zero. We're back." said Ace.

Smiles. "Well, how'd it go?" Zero asks.

"We've got the goods." said Scar.

Ace and Scar gives Zero the bags. He opens it and inside are full of new items and weapons. Zero is impressed with what he's seeing.

"Excellent. Nice work, you two."

"Thank you, boss!" Both said.

"Boss. I love it when they call me that." Zero thought.

The jackal who spied on Eggman enters the house and runs up to Zero.

"Boss! Boss!"

Everyone looks at the jackal.

"What is it?" Zero asks

"I've found something that you've got to see."

Later…. The jackal squad is watching the footage of Eggman and his lab on Radar's computer monitors. Zero chuckles as he's rubbing his chin.

"Hehehe. Now we're talking." said Zero.

"Did I do good, boss? Did I?" The jackal asks.

Zero pats the jackal's head. "Yes… You did an excellent job." He stops patting his head. "Now, everyone. Gather all your weapons. This mission requires all of us to accomplish. We're going to attack this, Eggman, and take all of his technology."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

[Dr. Eggman's Laboratory.]

Back with Eggman. The phantom ruby is placed inside a capsule. Eggman is looking at it, trying to figure out what it is.

"Bah! These results are all over the place with this….this thing." said Eggman.

"OOH! OOH! Can I name it!? What about Spooky Sapphire?" said Cubot.

"It's not blue." said Orbot.

"Anarchy Beryl." said Cubot.

"Too derivative." said Orbot

"Precious Stone!" said Cubot.

"Wrong game." said Orbot.

Grins evilly and pokes the glass. "No, I will call it The Phantom Ruby." said Eggman.

"That was going to be my next suggestion!" said Cubot.

"Hush." said Orbot.

An explosion happens and the alarm is ringing.

Concerned. "What was that?" Eggman asks

Outside the pyramid, Zero and the jackal squad are raiding Eggman's base. Some of Eggman's robots tries to stop them but to no avail.

"JACKAL SQUAD! Move in for the kill! Raid the base! All of that Eggman technology is sure to fetch a hefty bounty!" said Zero.

Angry. "How dare they attack ME! I should've been building my army instead of studying this stupid rock!" The phantom ruby activates and warps Eggman an army of Egg pawns. Eggman is surprised. "Where did these-?" Eggman stops with the questions and grins evilly. "Doesn't matter." Eggman gets in his Egg mobile. "Robot army….Attack!"

The robots are engaging in battle with the Jackal Squad. Zero slices through some of the robots and is running towards Eggman.

"Take care of the robots! I'll handle the fat man!" Zero jumps up and attacks Eggman. "HA-AAH!"

Eggman points the phantom ruby at Zero to use it to block his attack. "NOOOOO-!"

The phantom ruby blocks Zero's Strike and it caused it to activate. An illusion of a destroyed world appears. Zero and Eggman looks around wondering where they are.

"What the…?" said Zero.

Eggman smiles evilly then swats Zero away. The illusion disappears and Zero is on the ground, surrounded by Egg pawns, and Eggman looks down at him.

"OH, HO, HO, HO, HO! Now you're an interesting guy. I like you." Eggman sticks out his right arm to shake Zero's hand. "How about I hire you to lead my forces? Together, we'll take over the world!"

The number of robots seems to have overpowered the jackal squad. They're on the ground as well.

"Boss! Don't be tempted by him. We'll be fine!" said jackal squad member.

Zero gets up. "…HAHAHA! Interesting. All this time I have been going through the motions. I've actually grown tired of the world as it is. Let's do it, Doctor! I'll help you change this world!"

Zero's agreement to join Eggman shocked the squad.

"Excellent. Now in a while we will be heading out to mystic jungle. I have another laboratory there with better technology for my research. I will let you all know when it's time to go."

The Egg pawns vanish and Eggman goes back inside his lab.

* * *

[Jackal Squad HQ]

Back at HQ. The squad is not keen on the idea of joining Eggman.

Upset. "JOINING SIDES WITH THAT GUY!?" Claire asks.

"Like I said, loud and clear." said Zero.

Angry. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!? We don't want to be somebodies little lap dogs!" said Scar.

"Normally, I can support the decisions you make, Zero. But I disagree with this one!" said Radar.

"Guys, guys. I understand your concerns. But we could gain something from joining the Doctor."

"And what could we possibly gain from joining that freak?" Claire asks.

"It might sound crazy to you. But that gem of his, is the reason why I've decided to join him."

"Gem?" Ace asks.

"Yes. When my sword made contact with the gem, I saw a world that has been changed into something different. It was like I was in another reality."

"Yep. That sounds crazy alright." said Scar.

"That's impossible! How could a gem have the power to change reality?" Radar asks.

"That's what I want to know. Could you imagine what we could do with that kind of power? All the bounty in the world will be ours, we'll be the most powerful mercenaries in the world, and we can finally build our empire."

"Zero. I'm not gonna lie, all of that sounds nice. But… I'm not sold on trusting that Eggman guy." said Ace.

"According to his profile, He is an evil genius and an absolute madman. I'm not sure if he's going to reward us for helping him out." said Radar.

"Yeah, so how do we know we can trust him?" Claire asks.

"You don't have to, and there's no need to worry, I'll keep an eye on him. If he tries anything funny; I'll take hm down and we'll take the gem for ourselves. Right now… we just have to go along with his schemes. Can you all do that?"

The squad sighs unhappily. "Fine."

"Great. Now, we will be leaving headquarters soon. Get all of your things together."

Everyone walks off to gather their things.

* * *

[Mystic Jungle, night]

One week later. In mystic jungle, some of the jackal squad members are guarding the entrance to Eggman's facility. Claire is also there with the squad. Eggman calls her.

Over Radio. "Hey, you! Main entrance defense squad. How's everything out there?" Eggman asks.

Claire sighs then answers Eggman. "The area's clear; No sign of any unidentified hostiles."

Over Radio. "Good. Now, I trust you all to keep anyone from entering my facility." Claire rolls her eyes. "These experiments are very important, so don't fail me."

"Whatever. *Sighs* I can't believe I'm doing this." She contacts the other squad members. "Hey, everyone. How's it going on your side?"

Over Radio. "Facility north is clear." said Ace.

Over Radio. "South is also clear." said Scar.

Over Radio. "Westside's clear." said Jackal Squad Member.

"Alright. Just checking. This stupid ruby better be worth us being here, Zero." said Claire.

* * *

[Dr. Eggman's laboratory]

Meanwhile. Eggman is in his laboratory working on building the phantom ruby prototypes. Zero enters the lab and Eggman looks at him.

"Huh? What are you doing here?" Eggman asks.

"I'm just here to see how things are going with the prototypes." said Zero.

"Clearly, I'm still working on them…. Uh... What's your name again?"

Annoyed. "Zero."

"Oh, yeah. Thanks."

"Whatever." Turns around and walks away. "I'm going back to my post."

"Very well. Keep your eyes peeled for any intruders."

"I know what I'm doing."

* * *

[Mystic jungle, night]

Zero walks out of the lab. "With the prototypes, everyone gets their fair share of the phantom ruby's power. You better not go back on our deal, Doctor, or you'll be sorry."

Zero jumps through the pillars and goes off somewhere else.

* * *

[Mystic Jungle, night]

Later. Shadow the hedgehog is seen skating through the jungle. Rouge contacts him via communicator.

Over Radio. "Shadow! The energy readings are just up ahead, be careful!" said Rouge.

"Got it!" Shadow jumps up in the air and lands on top of a pillar to get a better visual. He see's Eggman's facility. "Hmm… So the energy signal is coming from that base. Whatever it is your planning, Doctor. I'm going to shut it down." Shadow sees Claire and her squad guarding the entrance. "Hmph. Look's like Eggman's got some personal guards. No matter. They won't stop me." Shadow jumps off the pillar.

* * *

[Facility Main Entrance]

Back to Claire. She and the others are bored.

Talking to the others via communicator. "UUUGH! This is boring! There's no one even out here but us." said Claire.

Over Radio. "You ain't kidding." said Ace.

Over Radio. "I feel like I'm about to fall asleep." said Scar.

Over Radio. "I don't understand, Eggman. He has hundreds of killer robots in this facility. Why couldn't he just get them to guard this place instead?" Radar asks.

Over Radio. "Beats me." said Ace.

Over Radio. "Maybe his robots aren't strong enough." said Scar.

"How?" said Claire.

Over Radio. "Perhaps, there's something out there that even his robots couldn't defeat. So I guess we're better suited to defend his facility than they are." said Radar.

"Come on. How could there be something that strong to where he needs so much security for this place?" Claire asks.

Shadow uses his boost ability to knock Claire and the others out of his way.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" said Shadow.

Shadow breaks through the door causing the alarms to go off. Claire gets up with a shocked look on her face.

Surprised. "W-WHAT THE HECK!?" said Claire.

Over Radio. "HEY! THE ALARMS ARE GOING OFF! WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" Eggman asks.

"Some unidentified hostile burst through us and broke the door down!"

Over Radio. "WELL DON'T JUST STAND THERE, STOP'EM!"

Claire and the others goes after Shadow.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

Brawn, Ace, Scar, Radar, and more of the jackal squad are running to find their intruder.

Over Radio. "Everyone. What's going on?" Zero asks.

"We've got an intruder that somehow got past Claire's team. We're heading to her for backup." said Scar.

Over Radio. "Alright! I'm on my way!"

Over Radio. "Guys! He's heading to your direction!" said Claire.

"Roger!" said Ace.

Shadow stops and he encounters the Jackal Squad, except Zero. They all have him surrounded.

"Hey! You're invading the wrong facility, pal! Now if you know what's good for you, I suggest you turn yourself around and get lost!" said Scar.

All of them have their weapons. Shadow looks at them with a stern expression on his face.

Over Radio. "Hey! Have you all stopped the intruder?" Eggman asks.

"We've got him surrounded. He's a black hedgehog with red stripes, and he is wearing red and white boots." said Ace.

Over Radio. "Black hedgehog? SHADOW!? All of you, eliminate that hedgehog now!"

"Out of my way! I don't have time to play games with all of you." said Shadow.

"The same can be said to you, buddy. Now we'll tell you for the last time… Get out!" said Scar.

Over Radio. "Hey! Didn't you hear me?" Ace and Scar is getting annoyed with Eggman. "I said destroy that hedgehog NOW!" Scar starts growling. "I'm the one who hired you all to protect my facility, so do as I say!"

To Eggman. "ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! WE'LL DO IT!" To Shadow. "Nothing personal. It's the fat man's orders. JACKAL SQUAD… ATTACK!" said Scar.

They all charge at Shadow and he started attacking as well. Shadow is taking out the jackal squad. He dodged Claire's bullets, teleports behind her, and kicks her to the trees. Brawn attacks Shadow but he dodges and roundhouse kicks Brawn in the face. Sending him flying to the stone pillars. Brawn gets back up and picks up the stone pillar.

"EVERYONE, GET DOWN!" said Ace.

The Jackal Squad gets out of Brawn's way as he swings the pillar at Shadow.

"CHAOS SPEAR!" said Shadow.

Shadow fires his Chaos Spear and destroys the pillar before it hits him. Brawn looks shocked then Shadow teleports in front of him and kicks him in the air. Then slams him down on the ground.

"BRAWN!" said Ace.

"DARN YOU!" said Scar.

Ace and Scar along with four jackals charge at Shadow. Shadow chaos spears all six of them to the pillars and trees. Claire gets up and shoots at Shadow again, only for him to dodge by teleporting. Shadow gets behind her but she turns around to roundhouse kick him but he blocks, grabs her leg, and throws her to the pillar. The jackal squad is being overwhelmed by the ultimate life form. All of them are on the ground but they refused to stay down and gets back up.

"Argh! What is…this guy?" said Scar.

"I don't know, but keep fighting!" said Ace.

They all charge at Shadow again. Red aura is surrounding Shadow, charging up a Chaos Blast.

"CHAOS…BLAST!"

As Zero is jumping through the pillars, he sees a giant red explosion from a distance. He stops jumping and looks at it.

"W-What is that?" [Worried] "OH NO!" Zero hurries to the explosion's location. As he arrived, Shadow is gone, and all of the Jackals are lying down on the ground. Zero panics and runs up to Claire. "CLAIRE! CLAIRE! WHAT HAPPENED!?" Zero shakes her but she wouldn't wake up. "CLAIRE! CLAIRE! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" Zero goes to Ace, Scar, and Radar's bodies. "RADAR! SCAR! ACE! COME ON, WAKE UP!" He then goes to Brawn. Even he couldn't survive that blast. "BRAWN! GET UP! PLEASE! PLEASE, WAKE UP!" Zero gets on his knees and accepts that everyone is dead. Making him the sole survivor of the Jackal Squad. "No! NO...! NO...! NOOOOOOOOOOO!" He shouts. Then he goes off to find and kill Shadow.

* * *

[Eggman's Facility]

Meanwhile with Shadow. He is skating and destroying everything in the facility.

"We've got an intruder! Shadow has entered the facility! Defense squad jackal has already been completely annihilated! All available troops, intercept that blasted hedgehog by any means necessary!" said Eggman.

Eggman's robots appear and tries to stop Shadow but he easily destroys them.

"Rrrrrrgh! I went to great pains to get the best mercenaries around and he STILL totally wrecked the defense squad! SHADDDOOWRRGH!"

"Hmph. Should have hired some defense squads for the defense squad, eh, Doctor?"

Shadow gets deeper into the facility.

"Unbelievable! He's getting deeper and deeper into the facility! That computer running the analyses in the core is invaluable! One of you idiots stop that hedgehog now!"

The egg pawns and other egg robots were shooting at Shadow. But he still managed to destroy them all very easily.

"Shadow is STILL alive!? At least the analysis of the stone was completed yesterday, but…. No! I still can't let this facility be destroyed. Is there anyone left out there!?""

"Hmm. Seems like this place is important. No wonder the canon fodder has been putting up a fight."

Shadow is looking for some cover while intruding the entrance of Eggman's facility. The hedgehog reaches for his communicator watch on his wrist. Zero is leaping from stone pillars to stone pillars finding a spot to attack Shadow.

Over Radio. "Hey, you! I know you can hear me! You're captain of squad jackal, aren't you!? Your squad was useless! GO CLEAN UP THEIR MESS ALREADY!"

"Yeah, Yeah, I got it….You. You destroyed my squad. I'll show you why they called me the ultimate mercenary!" Zero charges at Shadow. "TAKE THIS!" Shadow uses Chaos Control. "WHAT!?"

Shadow attacks Zero with a roundhouse kick launching the jackal in the air, and slams him down with his two fists making him fall on the ground. Shadow delivers the final blow to Zero with another roundhouse kick. Launching him into a nearby stone pillar. Zero is struggling to get up.

"Worthless. Don't show your pathetic face around me ever again."

Shadow teleports away.

"I… I'm shaking… Me? Me… Afraid…!? Ugh. Pathetic!? Me…" [Gets up.] "He's calling ME weak!? No…! I am not weak. I'm… I'm not. I'm not weak! I AM NOT WEEEEAAAAK! URRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Zero gets down on his knees. "NOOOOOO! I AM NOT WEAK!" Repeatedly punching and tearing off grass from the ground. "I AM NOT WEAAAAAK!"

While Zero is punching and tearing grass off of the ground. Flashbacks of the times Zero spent with the jackal squad appears. The time Zero met Stryker and the squad. The times when Zero trained and bond with them. The times when Claire used to mess with him. The times when he tasted Brawns cooking and Brawn smiled at him. The times when he trained with Brawn. The times when he was bonding with Ace, Scar, and Radar. All of Zero's best memories is showing up on screen. The flashbacks ends and Zero stops punching and ripping grass off the ground.

Zero screams in the mix of pain, anger, and sadness. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Then he buries his face in the ground. Zero recites what Axel said about him.

Axel's voice. "Look at yourself….trying to be something your not! Someday… Someone will remind you what you really are."

Zero recites Shadow's words.

Shadow's voice. "Worthless."

Then he recites both of Axel and Shadow's sentence about him.

Axel and Shadow's voice. "Don't show your pathetic face around me ever again."

Devastated. "I….. I….. I…. am weak. I…. I am….. pathetic. I…. I am…. worthless." said Zero.

Over Radio. "Hey, Jackal! No! What was it…? Uh? ZERO!" Zero reopens his eyes wide and gasps. "Has Shadow been taken care of!? Hello? Answer me now!"

Gets up and answers. "Doctor….. I'm coming back to the lab."

Zero is very devastated. He walks back to the laboratory to report to Eggman.

* * *

[Dr. Eggman's Laboratory.]

Back at the lab. Eggman is furious that Zero and the jackal squad failed to stop Shadow. While Eggman is yelling at him, Zero is looking down at the floor, still devastated.

"THE HEDGEHOG GOT AWAY!? How could you let this happen!? You said that squad jackal was the strongest mercenaries around. But it turns out you're all a pathetic bunch!" Turns his back towards Zero and crosses his arms. "Zero. I guess you were called that name for a reason after all."

Zero gets angry at Eggman for calling him and his squad "Pathetic". "Pathetic!?" Clinches his right fist. "He dares call my squad…? Pathetic?" Reopens his fist and calms down. "No… It'll only make things worse if you do it!" Zero thought.

Eggman uncrosses his arms and puts them behind his back. "However…. Compared to your squad, I find you the most interesting. So I'll help you become a useful ally to me."

"Huh? How?"

"Making you wield the power of the phantom ruby, of course." Eggman presses a button on his computer, then the finalized phantom ruby prototype appears from the floor. "This is the finalized phantom ruby prototype; The most powerful model of them all. If we attach this to your body, you'll become even more powerful than ever before. However, there is a catch." Pulls up a camera footage of a rabid bird flickie inside a cage with red glitching aura around it.

"What…? Why is it acting like that?"

"It's apart of the phantom ruby's power. I've captured some creatures and used the smallest fraction of it's power on them. It appears that once you've possess the power of the phantom ruby, you will change into a different persona of yourself. Meaning that once you've let the ruby be apart of you… You will no longer be the same person you are now."

Zero thinks about this offer. As he is thinking that background changes to pitch black. "I could become stronger if I let the phantom ruby be apart of me? I wanted to have that power and use it for my own purpose. But using it to defeat somebody…? That would make me look weaker. But…. If I refuse…. Then what good am I? How will I be able to destroy that hedgehog and avenge my squad? I could return to HQ and train…. But what good would that do if I don't have any defense against his powers? And… What if the deal is off then Eggman kicks me out? I would lose this opportunity to be even more powerful than Shadow could ever be. I would have to live the rest of my life as a useless coward and a pathetic man for not being able to avenge my squad. What's worse… is that I will also spend the rest of my life being alone and carry the guilt for not being able to protect them." [Closes his eyes.] "No… I can't. I refuse to live that life…! I won't live like that!" The background returns to normal.

"Hey! Are you listening?" Eggman asks.

"Yes…. I'll do it. I will let the phantom ruby…. Become apart of me. But first…. I want you to make me something, Doctor."

"Eh? And what would that be?"

"Make me something that will hide my face. A mask. But not just any mask. A mask that fits the power I will have at my possession."

"Hmm…. Very well. Give me a moment."

Later on. Zero is putting on the mask. Cues Infinite (song).

"So… I will change when I've obtain this power, huh? If that's the only way to get stronger… then so be it."

Zero places the phantom ruby on his chest, then it activates. As soon as the jackal stretches his arms, the right side of his mask turns red, and he is surrounded by red aura. The energy is making the entire laboratory shake. Eggman is frightened by the shaking of his lab and the power that's causing it. Eggman loses his balance and falls on his back.

 **'Yeah Yo, I'm the tallest of mountains, I am the roughest of waves, I'm the toughest of terrors, I am the darkest of days….**

The song lyrics comes in as the aura shortens and the lab stopped shaking. Eggman gets up and looks at Infinite, surprised. Infinite is surrounded in red aura and he is flying.

"Zero? How do you feel? Zero!" said Eggman.

"HAHAHAHA!" Infinite turns and looks at Eggman. "Zero? That weakling is long gone. YOU MAY CALL ME….. INFINITE!"

"Oh…. Well then. Infinite. How do you feel?" Eggman asks.

 **'Cause if your messing with me, I am a dangerous weapon, I am the sharpest of blades, I'll cut you down in a second….**

Infinite looks at himself and his new power. "How do I feel?... I FEEL AMAZING!" Laughs in amusement of how strong he is. "THIS POWER! THIS POWER IS OUTSTANDING! NOW THE WORLD WILL KNEEL BEFORE THEIR NEW MASTER! THEY WILL KNOW…. THE TRUE POWER OF INFINITE!" Infinite laughs as the song continues.

' **When everything you know has come and gone (You are at your lowest I am rising higher), Only scars remain of who I was (We'll fight in the ashes, you lose in the fire), And there's no one left to carry on (This is an illusion, open your eyes and….), This pain persist, I can't resist, But that's what it takes to be infinite! Yeah, so look around you and tell me what you really see, I never end and that's the difference in you and me, Cause when your time is up and everything is falling down, it's only me and you, who is gonna save you now? So look around you and tell me what you really see, you live a lie and that's the difference in you and me, I have the power let me show you what it's all about, it's only me and you, who is gonna save you now?'**

The song stops there.

End of the final chapter.


	10. Epilogue

[House]

Back to the present day.

Zero wakes up. "Ugh…..Uh…..huh?" said zero. After waking up, he sees himself laying in a bed inside a mysterious house. His wounds were covered with bandages. "Wh-where am I? what is this place?" Zero tries to get up out of the bed, But his injuries weren't fully healed. "Argh!...That's just great!" said Zero.

The Avatar enters the room, carrying a tray with medicine on top. They notice that Zero has awaken.

"You?... So you're the one who brought me here." said zero. The Avatar shakes their head as saying "yes". They set the tray down on the table, and they pick up one of the medicines, then approaches Zero.

"WHAT!? Hey get away from me!" said Zero.

The Avatar stops for a moment.

"Why did you save me? Clearly, I deserved to die for what Infinite has done. So, why didn't you finish me off when you had the chance?"

The Avatar doesn't know why they saved Zero. So They're unable to answer his question.

"If you saved me because you pity me, then I don't want nor need your sympathy." Zero gets depressed. "If you couldn't kill me yourself, then you should've just left me to die."

The Avatar felt kind of bad for Zero. They reached their right hand out to Zero and he looks at them, confused.

"What is this? Are you saying that you want to be friends with me?" The Avatar gives Zero no reply, they're just staring at him. "I should be the last person you'd want to be friends with….. but maybe…. just maybe…" Zero goes into thinking for a moment. Then he decides to shake the Avatar's hand. "I don't know why you did it….. but thanks…. for saving me." Zero thanks The Avatar.

The end.


End file.
